Shadow Education: Theory, Analysis and Future Directions--A Rejoinder

The authors welcome and appreciate the comments of Eric Grodsky and Sigal Alon on their article "Shadow Education, American Style: Test Preparation, the SAT and College Enrollment." In their comments, Grodsky takes issue with several important theoretical and methodological aspects of their article and Alon highlights key processes pertaining to race/ethnicity. Grodsky's and Alon's emphases on theoretical conception, measurement and process, when taken together, offer fertile ground for contemplation and future research. The authors respond accordingly in this article. Beginning with theoretical issues, they restate and stand by their definition of shadow education relative to the alternative, narrower definition that Grodsky prefers. Their measurement and modeling strategy follows directly from their theoretical discussion and captures--more effectively than Grodsky's dichotomous approach--the interconnected and overlapping nature of student test preparation. They then turn to Alon's response and analyses, which elaborate on their results in important ways with respect to racial/ethnic minorities and suggest differential processes in the course of educational mobility. They then highlight some avenues for future research on shadow education. (Contains 1 table.)