College Contexts, Student Integration, and Educational Attainment. ASHE 1986 Annual Meeting Paper.

College student persistence and overall educational attainment were studied, based on data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Attention was directed to the influence of student socioeconomic status, academic aptitude and preparation, educational goal commitment, college quality/selectivity, college orientation to academic/graduate education versus vocational sub-bachelor's degrees, college size and complexity, and average student involvement. The analysis is based on a causal model derived from the sociological status attainment and conflict paradigms and from Tinto's model of college persistence/withdrawal. Statistical analysis involved Joreskog and Sorbom's technique for maximum likelihood estimation of models with multiple indicators of latent constructs: LISREL (linear structural relationships). Analyses were conducted separately for males and females who entered college in academic programs in fall 1972. Results show significant effects of students' social and academic background, institutional characteristics, integration and performance in college, and goal commitment after college entrance. Findings indicate the importance of examining dimensions of institutions other than the commonly used selectivity or quality dimension. (Author/SW)