- The children of non-college-educated parents were less likely to take algebra in Grade 8, take calculus in high school, and take calculus in college than were the children of college-educated parents.
- Students from college-educated households are twice as likely as students from noncollege households to score in the top quartile on standardized mathematics achievement tests.
- Students from college-educated households are also more than twice as likely to rank in the top tier of reading scores than are students from noncollege families.
- Each of these results reflects a combination of parental and school influences, and the differential is compounded by the tendency for children from college-educated families to attend better elementary and secondary schools than children from non-college-educated families.
- Young adults that grew up in noncollege families were less likely to enter postsecondary education; more likely to begin postsecondary education at a community college; less likely to earn a baccalaureate, graduate, or professional degree; and less likely to become a STEMM professional.
- The modest differences in parent encouragement between college-educated households and non-college-educated households did not translate into significant differences in students’ attitudes toward math and science.
- Young adults from college educated families are 3 times more likely to have found employment as a STEMM professional than young adults from noncollege homes.
- There were no major structural differences in the pathways to a STEMM profession. All of the variables that were significant contributors for students from college-educated homes were also significant contributors for students from non-college-educated homes.
- The analysis reveals a clear pattern of cumulative advantage and cumulative disadvantage.