The Chronicle carried an article yesterday about the complexities of educational attainment gaps. I thought this will be a good read to go with Bowen's Chapter 1.
On average, the racial gaps have increased. But, it also matters where (at county level) people live and what sub-groups they belong in for racial minorities.
http://chronicle.com/article/Census-Data-Reveal-Rise-in/126026/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Very interesting, thank you for posting.
ReplyDeleteAs I looked at the numbers and read through the article, I can't help but think of some of the articles I have read when doing research on the Hispanic population, primarily immigrants and how financial aid and access may play a role (maybe minor, maybe substantical) in these numbers. Depending on residency status, students may not be able to obtain financial aid, at least through the government/state funds. And, many states or schools are now making these students pay out-of-state tuition (some even requiring documentation prior to acceptance). A student that has to pay out-of-state tuition with no financial aid and limited scholarships due to eligibility requirements may not be drawn to college as much as others that are able to meet these requirements. Plus many of them may immigrate to America to make money, and college may not be a justifiable goal. Maybe this is only a small impact...and maybe this does not show up in the numbers either since typically, this demographic, has one of the lower response rates for the census.
This article brings to light how many facets there are to these numbers/percentages! Hopefully there will be more and more programs in place to help increase the number of students in post-secondary and completing higher ed degrees.
Excellent piece, I could look at that map all day It fits with "Crossing the Finish Line" readings well, with much more micro-level data. In looking at Illinois specifically, I was struck by the difference between Champaign County and the surrounding counties. Obviously, UIUC is a huge factor...interesting that its economic/educational research is so limited.
ReplyDeleteThe contrast between Miami and Milwaukee was also interesting. While the variation in the 'Hispanic" population is certainly a factor, I was surprised the article did not mention Miami-Dade Junior College - one of the largest and (arguably) best community colleges in the United States.
I played a lot with that map too. I traced the counties from Champaign to Chicago 'burbs along I-57 and noticed that the efficacy of plowing snow on the interstate is inversely related to the % of adults with bachelors in a county - affected through income-generating capacity of residents/county?!
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I recently read a 2010 book "Asians in the Ivory Tower" (Robert Teranishi) that raises similiar points about Asian Americans. Aggregate numbers mask the diversity of people categorized as Asian Ams. Rather than actually discussing the Asian Ams in higher education, that book (and all the numbers that it contains) I think makes a better case of explaining why the college choice process of Asian Americans is what it is. Some of the stats it discusses are quite similar to the numbers for other ethnic minority groups (contrary to what the Model Minority myth says).
This was a very nice data source. I spent some time looking at Northern and Central Illinois and then started looking at West Virginia, the southern tip of Illinois and then Oklahoma (where my fiancé is from).
ReplyDeleteGiven my interest in rural educational attainments, I thought I would share the data of two counties with everyone.
Pulaski county's (one county up from the tip of Illinois) has bachelor degree rates of 8.39% for Whites, 11.2% for Blacks, 22.7% for Hispanics, and 55.78% for Asians.
The county is 66.03 white, 30.61 black, 1.93 Hispanic, and .7 Asian
Kiowa country (South West part of Oklahoma in which the biggest town in the county has 1,509 people in it) has bachelor degree attainment rates that are 18.28 for Whites, 1.75% for Blacks, 2.24 for Hispanic, 100% for Asian).
The county is 80.08% white, 4.81% black, 8.49% Hispanic, and .12% Asian.