Helping Students Make It to College: Evidence-Based Design Principles for Reducing Summer Melt
Category: Pathways to and Through Postsecondary
In 1945, Louisiana extended secondary education from 11 years to 12. Since many students followed diploma-based stopping rules, consecutive birth cohorts exogenously received different amounts of schooling. We use this natural experiment to evaluate the long-run labor market impact of having an 11-year versus a 12-year program. Using a difference-in-differences analysis, we find that cohorts exposed to the additional year earn about 13% more in annual real labor income, with gains concentrated among White individuals. The policy does not alter the likelihood of high school graduation, though White students become four points more likely to complete some college.
Keywords
secondary education, human capital, labor market signaling
Education level
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/kvet-sb45
