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Realized potential or lost talent: high school variables and bachelor's degree completion.
This study examined how background and high school variables affected participants in either realizing their potential by completing a bachelor's degree or experiencing lost talent by not completing a bachelor's degree. A sample of participants who had demonstrated above average cognitive ability and had high postsecondary educational goals when in 8th grade was selected from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (national longitudinal data from 1988 to 2000; National Education, 2002). Several background and high school variables had strong effects on degree completion. Results were used to develop the Realized Potential or Lost Talent model. Implications for helping young people in their educational-career development are included.
********** Attainment of a bachelor's degree has increased in importance over the last several years. With regard to personal economic rewards, the earnings gap between those with and without bachelor's degrees has steadily widened over the last 3 decades (Wirt et al., 2000). With regard to occupational goals, a bachelor's degree is necessary for entry into many professional fields, and failure to complete a bachelor's degree forces career foreclosure on many individuals. In addition, projections show continued growth in occupations for which a bachelor's degree is required (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001). According to Adelman (1999), bachelor's degree attainment has gained increasing attention from government and policy perspectives, and bachelor's degree completion rates have become the accountability standard for higher education institutions. Young people seem to have responded to these economic, career, and sociopolitical realities. An increasing percentage of U.S. young people expect to attain bachelor's degrees and work in professional occupations (Rasinski, Ingels, Rock, Pollack, & Wu, 1993; Wirt et al., 2002). Wirt and colleagues reported that over the last 30 years, the percentage of young people who enter college soon after high school graduation has steadily increased. In the late 1990s, more than 60% of high school graduates were enrolled in c...See the full content of this document
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