This study, along with four others conducted by our colleagues, had been commissioned by the U.S. Department of
Education as a way of stimulating interest in the rich and extensive data that had been (and would be) collected in the longitudinal study
known as «
High School and
Beyond.»
With such concerns in mind, Coleman jumped at the opportunity when the U.S. Department of
Education in 1979 asked him to lead another national survey of American students,
known as «
High School and
Beyond,» that would follow young people as they progressed from 10th to 12th grade and on into college.
Many elite colleges and universities
no longer offer undergraduate teacher preparation programs, and many teacher preparation programs are housed within less selective colleges.5 Nonetheless, the academic profiles of teaching candidates in regional comprehensive universities are
high relative to other programs offered in those
schools.6 Furthermore, many teacher preparation programs do not have admission criteria
beyond those of their home institution, and only have access to a pool of candidates already admitted to the overarching college or university.7 For these reasons among others, the average SAT scores of students going into
education have historically been lower than those of their peers entering other professions, although there is some evidence that this is shifting.8