Education After High School

In this study of a probability sample of American high school students, the relative influence of ability, interest, temperament, and family background variables are considered with respect to six possible educational decisions made within one year after high school graduation. Cross tabulation and discriminant analyses are used. During the four-year period of the follow-up surveys, the percentage of students reporting some further education increased dramatically. Both socioeconomic status and ability have direct effects on the post-high school educational decisions. The discriminant analyses identified major differences among the groups, although some group pairs were more clearly and consistently differentiable than were others.