CRESPAR Report #9: Reducing Talent Loss: The Impact of Information, Guidance, and Actions on Postsecondary Enrollment

Abstract

This study uses nationally representative data to show that information about postsecondary educational institutions (PEIs), guidance, and essential preparatory actions taken by secondary students influence whether an individual will attend a PEI within two years of high school graduation and, if so, what type of PEI he or she will attend. Multinomial logistic regression is used to model PEI enrollment as a function of critical explanatory variables, controlling on an array of background and contextual characteristics including socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and gender. The conceptual framework is embedded in research on talent loss, which can be described as the occurrence of promising students not reaching their full educational potential.