Texas 4-H graduates, academics surpass post-secondary education | Life
A recent study from Texas A&M AgriLife indicates that high school graduates who have participated in Texas 4-H for at least two years, as well as those who receive scholarships from the Texas 4-H Foundation, have had much more success in the post-secondary education and marketable skills. than the general Texas student body.
The study population included all students who graduated from Texas public and private high schools in 2013, 2014, and 2015, as well as Texas 4-H alumni who graduated in the same years with at least two years of education. 4-H membership. The data for the first group came from the databases of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), while the data for the second group came from the National Student Clearinghouse.
“We achieved records of 4,259 Texas 4-H alumni and assessed their post-secondary academic performance against the goals set by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, specifically their 60x30TX goals,” said Darlene Locke, Senior Fellow. extension, who coordinated the research project.
The study included a subset of 556 former Texas 4-H Fellows who received Texas 4-H Foundation scholarships from donors such as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, San Antonio Livestock Exposition, the Richard Wallrath Education Foundation. and the Texas 4-H Youth Development Foundation.
“We had two specific areas of interest for the study,” Locke said. “The first was whether Texas 4-H alumni outperformed Texas students in post-secondary education against the THECB 60×30 goals. The second was to find out whether Texas 4-H alumni were better prepared for entry into post-secondary education than the general student body.
The Council aspires to achieve the status of 60% of Texans aged 25 to 34 graduating from post-secondary education by 2030. And its 60x30TX initiative aims to have 550,000 students by 2030 graduate with a post-secondary certificate or diploma. ‘college or university in Texas. He also researches that graduates have marketable skills and, upon graduation, incur debt of no more than 60% of their freshman salary.
Study results related to 60×30 objectives
The study found that 4-H alumni and 2013-2015 cohort alumni significantly exceeded THECB goals and the performance of the Texas student population.
The average ratio of student debt to first year gross income is also monitored by THECB. The progressive goal was $ 0.60 of debt per dollar of income in the first year. For this measure, only 2013 high school graduates were assessed (data was not available for other years). The debt of all the populations studied was below the THECB target for this measure: at $ 0.53 for the population of Texas and at $ 0.55 and $ 0.41 for alumni of 4-H and alumni of 4-H, respectively. While the average debt ratios of 4-H alumni and 4-H fellows were lower than those of the people of Texas, the difference between them is not statistically significant.
“The National 4-H program has evolved over the years, and the Texas 4-H program has evolved as well,” said Jeff Hyde, director of AgriLife Extension. “While retaining its rural and agricultural traditions, it has also spread to urban areas and placed an additional emphasis on the development of life skills, it has also broadened the variety of areas of academic interest that it offers to its members, including a number of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning opportunities. The depth and breadth of experiences that Texas 4-H offers young people for personal and academic development not only prepare them for academic success, but also prepare them for success in life.
Source: Texas 4-H Postsecondary Achievement Study
ZACH DAVIS is the Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Officer with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. He can be reached at 940-349-2889 or by email at [email protected]