A Comparison of College Attendance and High School Coursework from Two Cohorts of Youth

The Department of Labor conducted an analysis that examines how the relationship between high school courses and college attendance may have changed between the late 1970s and the late 1990s. As time progressed, students began taking more rigorous coursework and that became a high predictor of who was likely to attend college. In the late 1970s, however, fewer students took advanced courses and the rigor of the courses did not seem to be a determining factor in college attendance.