Papers by Evangeleen Pattison
Grades are the fundamental currency of our educational system; they incentivize student performan... more Grades are the fundamental currency of our educational system; they incentivize student performance and academic behavior, and signal quality of student academic achievement to parents, employers, postsecondary gatekeepers, and students themselves. Grade inflation compromises the value of grades and undermines their capacity to achieve the functions for which they are intended. I challenge the 'increases in grade point average' definition of grade inflation employed by critics and argue that grade inflation must be understood in terms of the signaling power of grades. Analyzing data from four nationally representative samples of high school students, I find that in the decades following 1972: (a) grades have risen at high schools and dropped at four-year colleges, in general, and selective four-year institutions, in particular; and (b) the signaling power of grades has attenuated little, if at all. I conclude that the concerns of critics who warn of rampant grade inflation are misplaced. Grades at secondary and postsecondary institutions are just as meaningful now as they were four decades ago.
Traditional approaches to understanding the link between education and body mass treat schooling ... more Traditional approaches to understanding the link between education and body mass treat schooling as a black box—universally conceptualizing student outcomes in terms of attainment, as reflected by years of schooling completed or highest credential earned. As a result, previous research investigating the relationship between "education" and body mass does not consider some of the more sociological aspects of the process of schooling. To address this gap in the literature, I consider if individual and institutional attributes interact in ways that have the potential to exacerbate or ameliorate educational disparities in body mass. In doing so, I consider the role of sex, race/ethnicity, and social class given that norms about body mass, in particular what is considered ideal or "appropriate", varies across segments of the population. Results based on the sophomore cohort of High School and Beyond (1980) suggest that "what" about education matters for body mass differentials and "why" largely depends on who you ask. In general, educational differentiation only predicted obesity in midlife for women at the top at the academic status hierarchy in high school and college, whereas among men, it seems that earning good overall grades in high school and graduating from a four-year college, even if at the lowest tier university, are all that matter.
Educational Researcher, 2013
Grades are the fundamental currency of our educational system; they signal academic achievement a... more Grades are the fundamental currency of our educational system; they signal academic achievement and noncognitive skills to parents, employers, postsecondary gatekeepers, and students themselves. Grade inflation compromises the signaling value of grades and undermines their capacity to achieve the functions for which they are intended. We challenge the “increases in grade point average” definition of grade inflation and argue that grade inflation must be understood in terms of the signaling power of grades. Analyzing data from four nationally representative samples, we find that in the decades following 1972: (a) grades have risen at high schools and dropped at 4-year colleges, in general, and selective 4-year institutions, in particular; and (b) the signaling power of grades has attenuated little, if at all.
One of the fastest growing groups on college campuses is students with disabilities, but their ra... more One of the fastest growing groups on college campuses is students with disabilities, but their rates of bachelor’s degree completion remain low. We build on research about barriers to degree completion among historically underrepresented groups on college campuses to examine the extent to which academic preparation before college and processes during college contribute to gaps in bachelor’s degree completion among four-year college students with a mental or physical disability. Using the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, we find that students with a mental disability are significantly less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree than students without disabilities and students with a physical disability, net of students’ family and academic background. Decomposition of the estimated indirect effect of mental disability on degree completion reveals first-year academic performance as the largest contributor. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications for un...
The U.S. Department of Education estimates that in the year 2018, the number of people earning ma... more The U.S. Department of Education estimates that in the year 2018, the number of people earning masters and doctoral degrees will rise by 99.7% and 109.3%, respectively since 1998, suggesting the growing importance of advanced degrees. As such, it is no longer enough to look at higher education as the traditional dichotomy of college versus non-college graduates. This study uses MIDUS I, a nationally representative sample (N=4,718) of U.S. adults ages 27-47 and 48-68 to gauge shifts in the role of parental education since the expansion of American higher education following World War II. Did this expansion increase access and opportunity for all students or heighten methods of stratification and exclusion? Key findings include: (1) there is a significant relationship between parental education and degree completion of offspring (2) this relationship becomes stronger as the degree becomes more advanced; and (3) the relationship of paternal education is stronger among the younger cohort; however, maternal education is stronger among the older age cohort. Findings suggest that there has been an increase in processes of stratification at the highest levels of degree completion.
Journal of Higher Education, 2016
Students with health impairments represent a growing sector of the college population, but health... more Students with health impairments represent a growing sector of the college population, but health based disparities in bachelor's degree completion persist. The classes students pass and the grades they receive during the first year of college provide signals of degree progress and academic fit that shape educational expectations, potentially subjecting students to a cooling out process (Clark 1960). Using the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS 04/09), we compare signals of degree progress and academic fit and changes in educational expectations between students with and without health impairments during the first year of college. We find that net of academic preparation, type of institution, enrollment intensity and first year experiences, students with mental impairments are more likely to lower their educational expectations after the first year of college, due partially to negative signals of academic fit. We find limited evidence that gaps in learning are related to the use of academic accommodations for students with health impairments. Our results suggest that students with mental impairments are disadvantaged in reaching first year benchmarks of degree progress and academic fit and are disproportionately cooled out. Bachelor's degrees have become essential for future success in health and the labor market. More people have access to college than ever before, but bachelor's degree completion rates are not equal for all students who hope to complete a degree. College attendance has risen for students with health impairments since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA], which supports equal opportunities and combats discrimination, but gaps in degree completion remain. i "We have yet to experience the full impact of [ADA]. The dreams and ambitions of many young people with disabilities have yet to be realized" according to Lex Frieden, a disability rights advocate (Frieden, 2014). Four out of five high i ADA defines a disability as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities." Both "disability" and "health impairment" are used in the literature (Wells 2003). We use "health impairment" because it coincides with the ADA definition and the BPS questionnaire.
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Papers by Evangeleen Pattison