Crossing the Finish Line
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Crossing the Finish Line William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, and Michael S. McPherson Crossing the Finish Line offers the most detailed exploration to date of college completion rates at America’s public universities and provides answers to the fundamental questions of why graduation rates are not higher and why they differ so markedly by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Authors William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, and Michael S. McPherson present unprecedented, comprehensive data on factors driving low completion rates and causing major differences in outcomes by race/ethnicity/gender and socioeconomic status. Parental education, family income, race and gender, high school grades, test scores, financial aid, and characteristics of universities attended—all come into play as the authors shed light on why under 50 percent of undergraduates at flagship public universities in this study graduate in four years, and why only 77 percent graduate in six years or less. Figuring prominently in their data is the phenomenon of undermatching. Undermatching occurs when students who are presumptively qualified to attend a selective 4-year institution on the basis of their grades and test scores opt to attend a less selective school or in many cases to not attend college at all. Data from Crossing the Finish Line suggest undermatching may be more prevalent, affect a disproportionate number of minority and low-SES students, and have a greater negative influence on graduation rates than previously thought. Identifying students who are most at risk for undermatching and encouraging them to apply to the right schools could lead to better college graduation rates, according to Bowen and his colleagues. The authors also argue that the real benefits of college for the individual, the economy, and society as a whole, come not from enrolling in college or taking a few courses, but in actually graduating with a 4-year degree. Their data even suggest that graduating from college creates intergenerational effects. Students are more likely to graduate from college if one or both of their parents also graduated from college, suggesting that even minor improvements in college rates now will have an exponential positive effect on the graduation rates of future generations. 2009. Princeton: Princeton University Press ISBN: 9780691137483 |
