Improving non-cognitive abilities such as classroom adjustment in elementary school students can help to improve college outcomes

In recent years, the gap between whites and minority groups for postsecondary attendance and graduation has remained stubbornly high, contributing to ongoing income inequality. For many, early intervention to encourage eventual college attendance among children is important – but what sorts of interventions are needed? Using a longitudinal study of nearly 1,400, Suh-Ruu Ou finds that elementary students’ non-cognitive abilities, or how they interact in the classroom environment, can be a predictor for college attendance. She argues that altering factors such as parents’ involvement in school, and introducing programs that identify children with adjustment difficulties, might increase their chances of attending college in the future.