{"id":20563,"date":"2024-07-01T00:00:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T00:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tamus.edu\/data-science\/?p=20563"},"modified":"2025-09-15T22:03:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T22:03:58","slug":"the-plight-of-economic-disadvantaged-students-in-the-8th-grade-cohort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tamus.edu\/data-science\/2024\/07\/01\/the-plight-of-economic-disadvantaged-students-in-the-8th-grade-cohort\/","title":{"rendered":"The Plight of Economic Disadvantaged Students in the 8th Grade Cohort"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

We continue our summer blog series reviewing the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s (THECB) 8th grade cohort study, now known as the “<\/span>Texas Talent Trajectory (T3)<\/a>” project. This blog post builds on previous entries (here<\/a> and here<\/a>) by exploring educational outcome data for members of the three-year 8th-grade cohort (FY2011-FY2013) based on students’ economically disadvantaged status, as determined by a student being “eligible to participate in the national free or reduced price lunch program, as defined by the Texas Education Agency” (T3 Appendix).\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Texas Talent Trajectory (T3) Data Comparison by Economic Status<\/u><\/b><\/p>

In the visualization below, there are three different timepoints in determining success for students in the 8th-grade cohort.<\/span><\/p>

  • Economic Status<\/u>: Out of the more than 1.08 million in the 3-year cohort, over 57% (619K) of the students were considered to be economically disadvantaged during their 8th grade year.<\/li>
  • High School Diploma<\/u>: Just over 81% of 8th graders earned a high school diploma from a Texas public high school in the T3 data. As shown in the visualization below, there is an almost 10 percentage point difference between the groups based on economic status<\/b>: 77% of economically disadvantaged students completed a high school diploma, while over 86% of students who were not economically disadvantaged earned a high school diploma.<\/li>
  • Higher Education Enrollment<\/u>: The metrics at the higher education level in Texas show increasing gaps based on economic status. For students in the 8th-grade cohort, almost 65% of not economically disadvantaged students enrolled in Texas higher education (2- or 4-year institutions) within six years of high school graduation, while under 43% of economically disadvantaged students enrolled<\/b>. For the not economically disadvantaged group, enrollment is fairly evenly split between 2-year and 4-year institutions. However, the economically disadvantaged students enrolled in 2-year institutions at twice the rate of those enrolled in 4-year institutions (28.7% versus 14.1%, respectively).<\/li>
  • Higher Education Credential<\/u>: Previous data showed that only 24% of the 8th-grade cohort completed a higher education credential (certificate or degree) within 11 years of entering the 8th grade. For those in the economically disadvantaged group, less than 16% earned a higher education credential, while 36% of the not economically disadvantaged group earned a higher education credential in Texas. The largest gap is for students who earned a bachelor’s degree, as only 9.5% of the economically disadvantaged students earned a bachelor’s degree compared to 29.3% of students in the not economically disadvantaged group<\/b>.<\/li><\/ul>
    NOTES<\/i>: Current T3 data do not include enrollment and earning of credentials at out-of-state higher education institutions. These data, plus employment outcomes, will be added by THECB in the future. Hovering over the nodes and links in the Sankey diagram show additional information.<\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t
    There is a significant gap in educational outcomes based on economic status of students in the 8th-grade cohort.<\/h5>\r\n
    Abbreviations<\/u>: \"HE\" = Higher Education | \"EconDis\" = \"Economically Disadvantaged\" |\r\n \"Not EconDis\" = \"Not Economically Disadvantaged\"<\/h6>\r\n