Central Texas Student Futures Project

Recent Research Reports

2009: Student Futures Survey Outcomes for 2009

Abstract

In December 2009 the Student Futures Project released a report by Tara Carter Smith and Greg Cumpton highlighting the findings from the 2009 senior surveys. The senior survey is a primary component to the Student Futures Project research, providing details on graduates' family backgrounds, high school experiences and preparations for the future, which assist researchers in determining key influences and factors that affect students' postsecondary education decisions and outcomes.

Central Texas Student Futures Project 2009 Survey Outcomes (December 10, 2009)

2009: Central Texas Student Futures Project Conceptual Model

Abstract

The project relies on a combination of student surveys and linked administrative records to provide feedback in order to improve policy and program alignment for Central Texas ISDs that prepare students for the demands of adulthood and for success in the workplace. The purpose is two-fold:

• To provide Central Texas school districts, postsecondary institutions and employers with comprehensive, longitudinal research on what local high school students are doing after high school and how a variety of educational, personal and financial factors are related to their success in higher education and the workforce; and

• To foster best practices through workshops, seminars and applied research, assisting the region’s ISDs, Education Service Center and postsecondary institutions to increase the number of regional youth who obtain postsecondary education and workforce credentials.

Central Texas Student Futures Project Conceptual Model (September 2009)

2009: Education and Work After High School: Central Texas Outcomes through Dec. 2008

Abstract

The Central Texas Student Futures Project is a research partnership of the Ray Marshall Center and ten Central Texas independent school districts (ISDs). The project follows the progress of Central Texas high school graduates as they make the critical transition from high school to postsecondary education and the labor market. This effort grew out of concerns among key education, business, workforce development and community stakeholders that the region’s economy and its residents would not prosper in the near- and longer-term unless more of its graduates obtained higher levels of enrollment in postsecondary education and better labor market outcomes. Graduates' actual postsecondary education and work outcomes are computed annually (for at least four years beyond graduation) using postsecondary enrollment and employment records. Findings are shared annually with local educators, business and community leaders, and policymakers committed to improving education and supporting local initiatives.

Education and Work After High School: Central Texas Outcomes through December 2008 (September 2009)

2009: Findings from the 2008 Senior Surveys

Abstract

The Central Texas Student Futures Project1 is a research partnership of the Ray Marshall Center and ten Central Texas independent school districts (ISDs). The project follows the progress of Central Texas seniors as they make the critical transition from high school to postsecondary education and the labor market. The senior survey is a primary component to the research, providing valuable individual detail on students’ family backgrounds, high school experiences, and preparations for the future.

Findings from the 2008 Senior Surveys (February 2009)

2009: Education and Work After High School: A First Look at the Class of 2007

Abstract

To determine both what students plan to do after high school and key influences on these outcomes, the project surveys seniors in the spring prior to graduation. Graduates' actual postsecondary education and work outcomes are computed annually (for at least four years) using postsecondary enrollment and employment records. Data from prior high school records and the senior survey are added to the longitudinal outcomes data and used to identify those background factors and educational activities associated with specific education and labor force outcomes. Findings are shared annually with local educators, business and community leaders, and policymakers committed to improving the quality of education and employment in Central Texas.

This report presents the results of an analysis of initial postsecondary enrollment and employment outcomes — measured in the fall of 2007 — for 2007 high school graduates in the eight independent school districts (ISDs) that participated in the Student Futures Project in 2007: Austin, Del Valle, Eanes, Leander, Manor, Pflugerville, Round Rock and San Marcos Consolidated.

Education and Work After High School: A First Look at the Class of 2007 (February 2009)

2009: Outcomes One Year Later: An Update on the Class of 2006

Abstract

Outcomes One Year Later: An Update on the Class of 2006 (February 2009)

Additional Research Reports

2008: Findings from the 2007 Senior Surveys

Abstract

As part of the Central Texas Student Futures Project, Ray Marshall Center researchers survey Central Texas seniors each spring in the semester prior to their expected graduation to gain insight into factors that cannot be examined with students' existing high school records. In Findings from the 2007 Senior Surveys, researchers Tara Carter Smith, Nicole Beck, and Greg Cumpton analyze responses for all 2007 seniors surveyed in eight participating school districts -- Austin, Del Valle, Eanes, Leander, Manor, Pflugerville, Round Rock, and San Marcos Consolidated ISDs -- regarding family background and influences, high school experiences, and preparation for life after high school. The analysis also examines statistically significant differences for particular groups of high school students of concern to policymakers, including those who would be the first in their family to attend college, Hispanic students, and low-income students.

Findings from the 2007 Senior Surveys (February 2008)

2007: Education and Work After High School: A First Look at the Class of 2006

Abstract

For Education and Work after High School: A First Look at the Class of 2006, Ray Marshall Center researchers used both descriptive statistics and more sophisticated multivariate techniques to determine the factors associated with initial postsecondary education and employment outcomes for 2006 Central Texas seniors. Data for this analysis were constructed from individual student high school records, a spring survey of Central Texas seniors prior to graduation, and subsequent postsecondary education and employment records through December 2006.

Education and Work After High School: A First Look at the Class of 2006 (September 2007, rev. November 2007)

2007: Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center: Findings from the 2006 Senior Surveys

Abstract

As part of the Central Texas Student Futures Project, Ray Marshall Center researchers survey Central Texas seniors each spring in the semester prior to their expected graduation to gain insight into factors that cannot be examined with students’ existing high school records. In Findings from the 2006 Senior Surveys, researchers analyze responses for all 2006 seniors surveyed in six participating school districts—Austin, Del Valle, Leander, Manor, Pflugerville and Round Rock Independent School Districts—regarding family background and influences, high school experiences, and preparation for life after high school. The analysis also examines statistically significant differences for particular groups of high school students of concern to policymakers, including those who would be the first in their family to attend college, Hispanic students, and low-income students.

Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center: Findings from the 2006 Senior Surveys (May 2007)

2006: Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center: Year One Final Report

Abstract

Globalization, technological innovation and the ongoing restructuring of work have created a "skills premium" for well-educated and trained workers in the U.S. and locally. Currently, Texas has the highest percentage of adults without high school diplomas of any state and is also experiencing major demographic shifts that may exacerbate this trend. There has never been a greater need for business and education to collaborate to prepare both current and emerging workers for success in their careers, starting with improved high school graduation rates and including higher rates of postsecondary education enrollment and completion. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Education Agency provided funding to the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs conduct research that could aid decision-making by local business and education officials and result in better education and labor market outcomes for local high school graduates. The Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center (Data Center) is being developed for that purpose. This report discusses findings, conclusions and recommendations based on the Data Center's first year of work and describes plans for future research.

Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center: Year One Final Report (March 2006)

2006: Beyond the Numbers: Improving Post-Secondary Success through a Central Texas High School Data Center

Abstract

In 2004, the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources began collaborating to design and implement an approach to documenting the experiences of Central Texas high school graduates over time and to using this information to help the region's education, civic and business leaders improve postsecondary education and labor market outcomes. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce both initiated and served as a major funder of this effort. The Texas Education Agency provided financial support as well. This policy research project report presents the results of the first phase of this effort, making the case for a Central Texas High School Graduate Data Center, describing best practices from around the country, and outlining immediate plans and next steps for the Data Center.

Beyond the Numbers: Improving Post-Secondary Success through a Central Texas High School Data Center (2006)