High School and Beyond

High School and Beyond
Name	High School and Beyond
Type	Cohort study / secondary education program
Established	1980
Country	United States
Participants	High school students
Funding	Federal grant programs

High School and Beyond is a longitudinal cohort study and concept focusing on the trajectories of secondary school students in the United States. Conceived during the late 20th century, the study intersects with major institutions, surveys, and policy initiatives tracking academic achievement, workforce entry, and social mobility. It has informed debates involving federal agencies, legislative acts, and research organizations.

Overview

The project emerged amid interactions among National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education (United States), National Science Foundation, Congress, and Office of Management and Budget; research teams included scholars affiliated with Harvard University, University of Michigan, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Princeton University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, Duke University, University of California, Los Angeles, Cornell University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Indiana University Bloomington, University of Florida, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Minnesota, Ohio State University, University of Washington, Boston University, University of Southern California, Rutgers University, Michigan State University, Arizona State University, Purdue University, Vanderbilt University, University of Colorado Boulder, Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Mellon University, Brown University, Georgetown University, Syracuse University, Temple University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Iowa State University, Wake Forest University, Emory University, George Washington University, University of Notre Dame, Brigham Young University, Texas A&M University, University of Arizona, University of Oklahoma, University of Miami, CUNY Graduate Center, San Diego State University, University of Kansas, University of Oregon, Boston College, Case Western Reserve University, Lehigh University.

Curriculum and Academic Programs

Analyses have compared course-taking patterns with frameworks from No Child Left Behind Act, Every Student Succeeds Act, Common Core State Standards Initiative, Advanced Placement Program (College Board), International Baccalaureate, Career and Technical Education (CTE), STEM Education Coalition, and programs supported by National Institutes of Health, National Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Association of American Universities, American Educational Research Association, Council of Chief State School Officers, and Education Commission of the States. Researchers examined links to curricular offerings at exemplar schools such as Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Phillips Exeter Academy, Phillips Andover Academy, Groton School, Harvard-Westlake School, Choate Rosemary Hall, Milken Community Schools, Lakeside School, Sidwell Friends School, The Lawrenceville School. Studies contrasted traditional liberal arts sequences with specialized tracks influenced by partnerships with IBM, Microsoft, Google, Intel, Boeing, General Electric, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, AT&T, Verizon Communications, Amazon (company), Apple Inc., Facebook (now Meta Platforms), and nonprofit collaborations with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation.

Extracurricular Activities and Student Life

Investigations documented participation in extracurriculars tied to institutions like National Honor Society, Future Farmers of America, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, Key Club International, Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, School-to-Work programs, Model United Nations, Theatre (Broadway), and competitive arenas such as Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, National Spelling Bee, Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Science Olympiad, and athletic leagues linked to National Collegiate Athletic Association. Case studies referenced student engagement at venues like Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Museum of Art, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Kennedy Center, Disney Performing Arts, and partnerships with media outlets such as NPR, PBS, The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal.

Postsecondary Outcomes and Career Preparation

Findings have been used by stakeholders including Bureau of Labor Statistics, Social Security Administration (United States), U.S. Census Bureau, Pew Research Center, Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, Economic Policy Institute, American Council on Education, Association of American Medical Colleges, Law School Admission Council, National Association for College Admission Counseling, College Board, Common Application, Gates Millennium Scholars Program, Fulbright Program, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, and professional bodies like American Bar Association, American Medical Association, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, American Institute of Architects, Royal Society comparisons. Data informed matriculation patterns to Ivy League, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, Southeastern Conference institutions and employment pathways into firms including Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, Deloitte (company), PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Amazon (company), Google LLC, Facebook (now Meta Platforms), Microsoft Corporation, and public service placements in United States Congress, White House, Supreme Court of the United States, Department of Defense (United States), United States Agency for International Development.

Historical Development and Policy Context

The cohort study originated as a successor to earlier national surveys like the High School and Beyond (1980 cohort) project and drew methodological heritage from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS), Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), National Assessment of Educational Progress, and international comparisons with Programme for International Student Assessment, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Legislative milestones shaping context included Education Amendments of 1972, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Higher Education Act of 1965, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and policy rounds involving Presidential Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, Presidential Task Force on Education Technology, Council of Economic Advisers reports.

Demographics and Equity Issues

Analyses interrogated disparities across groups identified by associations and legal frameworks such as National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, League of United Latin American Citizens, NAEP Achievement Gaps task forces, Department of Justice (United States), Office for Civil Rights (United States Department of Education), American Civil Liberties Union, PFLAG, National Urban League, Southern Poverty Law Center, and demographic sources including United States Census Bureau data, American Community Survey, Current Population Survey (United States), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Research emphasized patterns related to migration histories involving Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, residential segregation traced to decisions like Shelley v. Kraemer, and socioeconomic stratification analyzed in scholarship by W. E. B. Du Bois, William Julius Wilson, Pierre Bourdieu, James S. Coleman.

Category:Longitudinal studies