The Schooling Process in First Grade: Two Samples a Decade Apart

Abstract

This paper presents parallel estimates of structural equation models to explain children’s educational attainment over first grade. One set of estimates is based on a 3-school sample drawn in 1971–77. The other set of estimates is based on a 20-school sample drawn in 1982–83. The evidence suggests that, within reasonable limits, results are comparable. The models capture some of the social influences that shape children’s academic marks and, to a lesser degree, the influences that shape their conduct marks and self-expectations in both sets of data. The strategies of data collection and modeling used here, which were especially developed for use with young children, have thus stood up to two field trials and to the passage of time.