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#2005-08: High School Exit Examinations and State-Level Completion and GED Rates, 1973-2000.
Authors: John Robert Warren, Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota; Krista N. Jenkins, Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania; and Rachael B. Kulick, Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota
ABSTRACT: We investigate the extent to which high school exit examinations are associated with state-level high school completion rates in the United States. To do so, we estimate a series of state and year fixed effects models using a new measure of state-level high school completion rates and archival information about states’ high school exit examinations between 1973 and 2000. We find that high school exit examinations --- particularly more difficult examinations that have recently been implemented in some states --- are associated with lower high school completion rates and higher rates of General Educational Development (GED) test taking. Furthermore, we find that the association between high school exit examinations and high school completion is stronger in states with more race/ethnic minorities and higher poverty rates.
The National Children's Study: Design and measurement issues