Have Adolescents Become Too Ambitious? High School Seniors' Educational and Occupational Plans, 1976 to 2000

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN REYNOLDS ◽  
MICHAEL STEWART ◽  
RYAN MACDONALD ◽  
LACEY SISCHO
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Seniors ◽  
Occupational Plans

Relations of Sociodemographic Variables and Cognitive Ability: A Comparative Analysis of the Cognitive Scores of High School Seniors

1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (3-2) ◽  
pp. 1139-1157
Author(s):  
Hardeo Sahai
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
White Students ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
High School Seniors ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
North Central ◽  
South Central

This paper compares subgroups using cognitive scores from a test battery administered to high school seniors in the base year survey in 1980. The procedures used to select the sample were designed to yield a data base that can be statistically projected to represent the national population of about 3,040,000 high school seniors. Comparisons were performed to examine differences in cognitive scores by age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and census region. Boys scored higher than girls on mathematics and visualization tests, but lower on the picture-number and mosaic comparison tests. Mean scores of the two sexes on the vocabulary and reading tests differed by less than 0.1 SD. Asian/Pacific Islanders had higher means than white students and other minority groups on the mathematics, mosaic comparisons, and visualization test, but their scores did not differ significantly from those of white students on the other three tests. Means for Hispanics were lower than those for white students but higher than those for black students, except on reading. Mean scores of Cubans exceeded those of Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans or other Hispanics. A positive correlation 0.40 obtained between test scores and the socioeconomic status or education attained by the examinees’ mothers. Students in New England had the highest means except on visualization for which the highest scores were in the West, followed in order by those in the Middle Atlantic, West North Central, East North Central, Pacific, Mountain, South Atlantic, East South Central, and West South Central regions.

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