| Author/Presenter |
Justin Bayard (Human Resources and Social Development Canada) |
| Title |
Initial Program Choice in Postsecondary Education: The Impact of Math and Reading Performance |
| Abstract |
Using the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the relationship between the choice of initial field of study in postsecondary education and cognitive abilities is explored. The results indicated that reading and mathematic competencies played a substantial role for both men and women. The marginal effects indicated that increased math skills for men lowered the probability of not participating in PSE and increased the probability of enrolling in a math related field. However, the marginal effects for women were not large in magnitude or statistically significant. Increased reading competencies had positive effects on the probability of participating in a social science domain. Specifically, increasing the reading score by 100 points increased in the predicted probability of pursuing the social sciences by 8 percentage points for men and 11 percentage points for women. Holding reading constant at specified percentiles (10th, 50th, 90th), sequentially increasing math scores increased the predicted probability for men to enroll in a math and engineering related field of study. Moreover, the absolute change was largest for low reading levels. The results were similar for women at the 10th percentile of reading but differed at the median and the 90th percentile; they were predicted to enroll in the natural sciences. Similarly holding math skills constant at specified percentiles (10th, 50th, 90th) and increasing reading competencies produced larger predicted enrolment in the social sciences for men and women. Men were also substantially less likely to enroll in a math and engineering field of study. The results suggest that field of study choice may be driven by underlying preferences and math and reading abilities. |
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