This project team will examine how students’ grades, test scores, and other markers of academic success in high school are related to postsecondary attainment and earnings. Drawing on statewide data from Massachusetts, the study will also examine school course-taking patterns, grading standards, effectiveness in improving markers of academic success among disadvantaged students, and the relationships between these school-level measures and economic mobility.

Data Sources 

• Data: Statewide administrative data from Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE), attendance, middle/high school Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test scores, high school course completion and course grades, high school graduation, and postsecondary enrollment and completion
• Mobility Outcomes: Massachusetts Unemployment Insurance earnings and employment