Will Ferrell, Jim Rogers, Kevin Wallace

SOCY 598
October 10, 2017

Will Ferrell
Jim Rogers
Kevin Wallace
SOCY 598
Research Proposal
Research Question:

In the 2013 the Bureau of Labor and statistics found that only 65.9 percent of high school
graduates entered college. With 40 percent of those individuals dropping out prior to graduation.
Therefore, only 39.54 percent of high school graduates graduate from college with advanced
degrees. Additionally, the individuals who do graduate from college do so with large debts that
take approximately 10 to 20 years to repay. Technical school graduates graduate with a median
starting salary of approximately 35,000. Additionally, tech school graduates have approximately
an additional 2 years in the workforce they have potentially earned 75,000 dollars more than
their college counterparts. This potentially places them firmly in the middle class. Low
Socioeconomic Status (SES) is accepted as a fundamental cause of poor health due to limited
access to health services. Most existing studies that attempt to examine the connections between
attainment of middle class status through vocational training instead of college graduation are
over 50 years old. This study looks to answer the question, would a South Carolina vocational
training strategy improve life course morbidity of individuals whose parents live below the
national poverty line?

Thesis: South Carolina vocational training should improve life course morbidity among
graduates who grew up in households below the national poverty line, because occupational
credentialing provides greater economic mobility.

Background:

Subheading 1: Education

 This section will discuss the following information regarding current attitudes and
policies in education around the United States:
o The high school diploma
o College and Career Readiness
o College Admission

Mulroy, J. (2011). College or Bust: Replacing ‘College Prep For All’ With A Three-Tiered
Educational Model Based On Student Abilities. Family Court Review, 49(3), 657-670.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-1617.2011.01400.x.

This article discusses the use of college-prep-for-all programs in the public education system.
The article particularly focuses on how college-prep-for-all hurts the students that have lower
abilities, and it increases the rates in which they drop out. Mulroy also proposes a three-tiered
system to help provide an education for all students, no matter their ability.

Finn, C.E., Kahlenberg, R.D., Kress, S. (2015). Rethinking the High School Diploma. Education
Digest, 81(2), 29-37.

This article discusses the dilution of the high school diploma in American education. The
article discusses the current issues that public education faces with regards to tracking and
achievement disparities in minority groups. The theory of every individual being able to achieve
at the same level has led to poor policy decisions that has hurt the students that they are supposed
to help.

Castellano, M., Ewart Sundell, K., & Richardson, G. B. (2017). Achievement Outcomes Among
High School Graduates in College and Career Readiness Programs of Study. Peabody Journal Of
Education (0161956X), 92(2), 254-274. doi:10.1080/0161956X.2017.1302220.

Students that participate in college and career readiness programs of study outperform
those in normal high school curriculum in standard GPA, CCR programs, and cumulative GPA.
These students were not handpicked high achievers. The students in the college and career
readiness programs outperformed students with standard curriculum, even though they spent
more of their time on credits within the CCR program, and in STEM classes.

Subheading 2: Educational Attainment and Health

 This section will discuss the information regarding the current health disparities of
groups based on:
o Education level attainment.
o Comparison of education level in relation to parental SES.
o How increased educational status improves an individual's health at mid-
adulthood
o How the accumulation of the above factors impacts an individual's overall health

Rosenbaum, J. (2012). Degrees of Health Disparities: Health Status Disparities Between Young
Adults With High School Diplomas, Sub-Baccalaureate Degrees, and Baccalaureate Degrees.
Health Services & Outcomes Research Methodology, 12, 156-168. DOI: 10.1007/s10742-012-
0094-x. (Kevin)

 This article compares health disparities between young adults who are college graduates,
obtain Sub BA degrees and high school graduates. This study focused on individuals
aged 26-32, with baseline data obtained when participants were 12-18 years old. After
balancing control groups on background factors determined in the economics and
education literature to differ substantially between people with different educational
levels found that they did not differ on the observed factors. However, the authors
acknowledge that they may have differed on unobserved factors. This finding supports
 the need for a longitudinal study to determine the health of educational attainment level
based on life course of individual participants.

Dowd, J.B., Walsemann, K.M., & Zajacova, A. (2015). The Long Arm of Adolescent Health
Among Men and Women: Does Attained Status Explain Its Association with Mid-Adulthood
Health. Population and Policy Review, 34(1). pp. 19-48. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/10.1007/s11113-014-9327-8. (KEvin)

 This article studied the effect of health in early life in later-life health by examining (1)
multiple dimensions of mid-adulthood health. (2) Analyzing attained status(education and
income) as a potential pathway through which health problems in adolescence may
impact later health. (3) considered the role of gender in these life course processes. While
items 1 and 3 do not particularly pertain to this research paper they can help provide
context. To this problem set. This article found that education and income did not appear
as critical pathways from adolescent to adult health. Our research will have to address
this finding as the authors state that this should be addressed in social and health research
policy, in order to optimize health over the entire life course.

Rosenbaum, J., & Rosenbaum, J. (2013). Beyond BA blinders: Lessons from Occupational
Colleges and Certificate Programs for Nontraditional Students. The Journal of Economic
Perspectives, 27(2), spring, 153-172. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2339165

 This article compares the benefits of the post secondary pathways of seeking a “four”
year BA degree with occupational colleges. The authors research found that students
who do not complete a traditional BA degree program or AA degree program have not
economic or job acquiring advantage over their high school graduates
counterparts. Conversely, high school graduates who attend occupational colleges and
obtain a certification have better job opportunities than their counterparts who do not
complete a four year degree program. Occupational colleges produce individuals who
can fill mid skilled jobs. While these individuals do not achieve same job rewards and
status BA degrees they do obtain job satisfaction and reduced stress due to consistent
employment in high demand fields while providing individuals from lower SES
communities a path to move beyond their parents SES status.

Significance of this Study:

The findings of this study will benefit society as increased cost reductions and individual
health outcomes will be increased due to better access to health care earlier in ones life cycle.
With organizational shift from treatment to prevention, governmental agencies will be able to
focus budgets and limited tax revenues to provide assistance and resources that provide technical
job training to those individuals who are not historically considered for a 4 year bachelor's
degree. It is widely accepted that higher SES attainment improves an individual's access to
health care ultimately reducing morbidity over the life course. Therefore it is imperative that
individuals break the cycle of previous generations who were raised in lower SES conditions,
have opportunities to break the poverty cycle and obtain access to the middle class. Curricular
focus on technical skill training for individuals will ultimately increase individual access to
improved health opportunities. This is imperative to achieve due to the aging population, which
will require greater health care resources; thus, requiring more providers, facilities, and funds.
Therefore, if morbidity is not improved, health care shortages and costs will continue to increase,
producing greater health inequities. This ultimately could lead to increasing the percentage of the
population below the national poverty line, and making a “middle class” lifestyle harder to
obtain for an ever increasing number of individuals. Therefore, health inequities will continue to
expand exponentially within the population.

National Center for Children in Poverty. (2015). South Carolina Demographics of Poor
Children. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/profiles/SC_profile_7.html.

Research Paper

In 2013 the Bureau of Labor and Statistics found that only 65.9 percent of high school
graduates entered college (Trade School website). With 40 percent of those individuals dropping
out prior to graduation (Trade School website). Therefore, only 39.54 percent of high school
graduates graduate from high school from college with advanced degrees (Trade School
website). Additionally, college graduates leave with large debts that take approximately 10 to 20
years to repay (Trade School website). Technical school graduates graduate with a median
starting salary of approximately $35,000. Additionally, tech school graduates have
approximately 2 years in the workforce and they have potentially earned $75,000 more than their
college counterparts (Trade School website). This potentially places them firmly in the middle
class. Low Socioeconomic Status (SES) is accepted as a fundamental cause of poor health due
to limited access to health services. Most existing studies that attempt to examine the
connections between attainment of middle class status through vocational training instead of
college graduation are over 50 years old. This study looks to analyze and compare the
differences between high school graduates who only obtain a high school diploma with those
who obtain a post-secondary vocational degree. To determine the role/impact of obtaining a
vocational degree have on the physical health of individuals compared with those who had never
gone to college? Does Parental SES moderate the impact vocational training on physical health?

Thesis:

States should implement a three-tiered diploma program that allows students to “opt in” or
choose their educational pathway would improve high school graduation rates and
unemployment rates, which ultimately would lead to better overall health outcomes.

Background:

With the current focus of Secondary education is a “College Prep for All”
methodology. Forty-eight jurisdictions or (Forty-two states, the District of Columbia, four
territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have adopted the
Common Core State Standards (Common Core). Common Core standards are designed to
ensure that students are college and career ready. However, according to the National
Assessment and Governing Board estimates are that 40 % of 12th graders are college
ready. However, the American College Testing Program or (ACT) estimates that the actual
number is closer to 26% of students are college ready across the four subjects that comprise the
ACT test (Finn, Kahlenberg, and Kress, pg 30). In October of 2015 half of the state’s graduation
tests were designed to an 8th to at most a 10th grade level. However, Common Core states now
require a College prep curriculum and most states establish their own graduation requirement
within their state. Most follow the Michigan standards which requires high school graduates to
complete a minimum of four credits in math (Algebra I & II, Geometry and one senior level
math) and English. Three in natural sciences (Biology, Chemistry or Physics and one senior
level science) and Social Studies (U.S. History & Geography, World History & Geography and
half credits in Economics, and Civics). Two credits of a world language. One credit in P.E. or
Health and one credit in Visual/Performing/Applied Arts) (Mulroy pg. 658). The Michigan
standards for graduation do not provide flexibility for students to repeat courses in math and still
graduate in a standard timeline. Due to this reason, several states such as Texas have established
less stringent standards and only require three years of math allowing for a student to retake a
math concentration subject (Mulroy pg. 659). However, students in Texas may choose to “opt
out” of the “College Prep” curriculum standards and obtain a “sub-diploma” (Mulroy pg. 661).
The above stringent “College Prep” standards forces students to take classes they do not have the
skill sets and background knowledge required to succeed. This is demonstrated by dropout rates
in the Chicago School systems that increased from 15.2 percent in 1995-96 school year to 17.59
percent in 2001-2002 school year (Mulroy). African American dropout rates during same time
frames increased from 16% to 20.27% (Mulroy). However, independent non-governmental
organizations place the dropout rate above 50% (Mulroy). In Texas, 40% of students opt out of
the “College Prep” track and receive the “sub-diploma” option (Mulroy). Whether students
drop-out of receive a “sub-diploma” they are destined to have higher unemployment rates, 14.6%
in 2009, compared to their counterparts who graduate high school, 9.7% in 2009 (Mulroy). Most
educators discuss the “college prep” for all concept in terms of earning potential between
secondary school graduates and post-secondary graduates. However, as the data shows this focus
ignores the needs of most of the high school students needs. As described in this section the
“college prep” for all theory harms students who enter high school behind or unprepared for
advanced level course work. It is almost impossible for them to catch up and earn a “full”
diploma. They are destined to a future of lower SES attainment and potentially increased
morbidity.

One of the most important key issues that is most often overlooked is determining the
health outcomes of high school and college graduates who have received vocational training by
determining how healthy these students were from their birth through their adolescent
years. According to Dowd, Walsemann, and Zajacova (2015), health can be seen through work
related limitations that can skew the results of how healthy these graduates actually are. “This
may include disability, health impairments, functional limitations, activities of daily living
(ADLs), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and self-reported health.” (pp. 25). By
looking at the South Carolina population as a whole, the larger picture will begin to emerge.

After looking at a study on County Health Rankings was conducted by Catlin, Givens,
and Van Dijk from the University of Wisconsin in 2015, the health among the South Carolina
population begins to paint itself giving this current study a general idea of where our state’s
health ranks in general. By looking at this study you will be able to notice the number of adults
that use tobacco products, who are considered obesity, drink alcohol, and who are living a
healthy lifestyle. This study also looks at what SES categories that many South Carolinians fall
under based around the type of healthcare that they are receiving. One of the main concerns that
might make some of these results bias is that a portion of these graduates with vocational training
may be self-employed and are either uninsured or have to rely on providing their own healthcare
instead using the healthcare that is provided by major business, which ranges around 20% in
South Carolina. You also need to take into effect the amount of preventable hospital stays that
are resulted from unexpected accidents and other major incidents that may arise throughout a
given year in South Carolina, which on average ranges around 54 people for every thousand
people who are enrolled with Medicare. To cap off their results that pulls all of this data together
is that amount of education that South Carolina population has received to the people that are
considered unemployed. To compare South Carolina health to the overall health of United States
population; according the Rosenbaum (2012), it “has improved across most educational levels
between 1971 and 2002.” (pp. 157).

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), a poor family is
defined as a household living below the national poverty line which is a combined income
of $24,036 per year. The NCCP also says that a family needs a dual income of around $48,000
per year in order to meet their annual basic needs. The metric for household is a family with two
parents and two children residing within a household. The NCCP states that in 2015, 26% of
children in South Carolina are considered to be living below the national poverty threshold. Of
these children, 34% of children live in a household where both parents are unemployed. 40% of
these parents have a high school diploma. South Carolina is currently ranked anywhere between
forty-three and fifty among state rankings in education. These statistics tell us that a high-school
diploma does not lead recipients into finding gainful employment upon graduating from high-
school that allows them to live above the poverty line. If this is taken further to look at the
percentage of people graduating high-school that are unable to meet their annual basic needs, we
can assume that a far larger number of people graduate from high school able to afford their
annual basic needs. There is clearly a gap in the education system that does not prepare graduates
for employment in the state of South Carolina, which perpetuates the poverty issue among
residents in the state.

Significance:

The significance of this study would assess the relationship between high school
graduates without vocational training and those who are able to graduate with additional
accreditation programs administered during their enrollment in secondary education. According
to Moore (2016), South Carolina is suffering from a large labor shortage within the construction
trade industry, and the additional training would potentially address this shortage, and improve
our graduates access to healthcare via improved economic mobility. This economic mobility
would provide more graduates within the state of South Carolina the ability to move above the
national poverty threshold. This study would also address achievement gaps that mostly harm
students from low-income and poor families, which is consistent with the findings of the Finn et.
al. (2017) study, which showed students participating in these types of programs outperform
those students in the standard high school curriculum, without vocational programs. This could
also potentially improve the state dropout rates as student achievement would prove through the
implementation of this program.

Nationally, this study would address and update a widely forgotten area of research, and
seek to address the needs of a population of students that hasn’t been addressed in formal
research. The term high school graduate is largely unscrutinized, as there appear to be levels
within the designation, that we would seek to quantify. If successful in South Carolina, the
research could be widely applied to low-income sectors of the country that experience the same
level of poverty. Since SES is a fundamental cause of access to healthcare services, providing
students with more options to employment, will improve their overall health. A three-tiered
diploma program allowing students to opt-in to advanced certification programs would improve
our education system, boost the economy, and improve health over the course of our graduates
lives nationwide.

References:

Catlin, B., Givens, M., and Van Dijk, J. W. (2015). County Health Rankings Health Gap Report,
University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/health-gaps/south-carolina.

Dowd, J.B., Walsemann, K.M., & Zajacova, A. (2015). The Long Arm of Adolescent Health
Among Men and Women: Does Attained Status Explain Its Association with Mid-
Adulthood Health. Population and Policy Review, 34(1). pp. 19-48. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/10.1007/s11113-014-9327-8.

Finn, C.E., Kahlenberg, R.D., Kress, S. (2015). Rethinking the High School Diploma. Education
Digest, 81(2), 29-37.

Moore, T. (2016, August 30). SC construction workers in short supply. The Post and Courier.
Retrieved from https://www.postandcourier.com.

National Center for Children in Poverty. (2015). South Carolina Demographics of Poor
Children. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/profiles/SC_profile_7.html.
Rosenbaum, J. (2012). Degrees of Health Disparities: Health Status Disparities Between Young
Adults With High School Diplomas, Sub-Baccalaureate Degrees, and Baccalaureate
Degrees. Health Services & Outcomes Research Methodology, 12, 156-168.
DOI: 10.1007/s10742-012-0094-x.

Trade School vs Traditional College. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2017, from
https://careerschoolnow.org/careers/trade-school-vs-traditional-college.