Is the GED an effective route to postsecondary education for school dropouts?
By: John H. Tyler, Magnus Lofstrom.
Contributors: Lofstrom, Magnus.; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 13816; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 13816.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "We use data from the Texas Schools Microdata Panel (TSMP) to examine the extent to which dropouts use the GED as a route to post-secondary education.  The paper develops a model pointing out the potential biases in estimating the effects of taking the "GED path" to postsecondary education.  Lacking suitable instruments that would allow us to directly address potential biases, our approach is to base our estimates on a set of academically "at risk" students who are very similar in the 8th grade.  We observe that the eventual high school graduates in this group have much better postsecondary education outcomes than do the similar at-risk 8th graders who dropped out and obtained a GED.  Our model explains the observed differences, and allows for a discussion of the policy challenges inherent in improving the postsecondary outcomes of dropouts"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 6/13/2008.

Includes bibliographical references.

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