Many young people pursue postsecondary education in the first few years after high school.
Postsecondary education is the key to many of the subsequent transitions and achievements these young people make, including entering the labor force, establishing careers and career goals, and forming a family. Higher levels of educational attainment are strongly correlated with more stable patterns of employment and higher earnings. The numbers of students enrolling in postsecondary education and completing a certificate or degree are indicators of access to these benefits. Low SES students in the highest test quartile were more likely than high SES students to start at a public 2-year institution or not to enroll at all by 1992. Among the 1980 sophomore cohort in the highest test quartile in 12th grade, high SES students were much more likely than low SES students to have earned a bachelor's or advanced degree by 1992.