SURVEY OVERVIEW
The centerpiece of THEOP is a two-cohort longitudinal survey of sophomores
and seniors who were enrolled in Texas public schools as of spring, 2002.
|
Two-Cohort Longitudinal Design |
| |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2006 |
|
Senior Cohort |
Wave 1
N=13,803 |
Wave 2
N=5,836 |
|
Wave 3
N=~5,800 |
|
Sophomore Cohort |
Wave 1
N=19,969 |
|
Wave 2
N=3,092 |
|
The baseline surveys of
seniors and sophomores (Wave 1)
were conducted in spring, 2002, consisting of 13,803 seniors and
19,969 sophomores based on a stratified random sample of 105 public
high schools in the state
of Texas. The baseline surveys queried students about their course
taking and grades, experiences with guidance counselors, knowledge
and perceptions of college admissions process, college perceptions,
future plans and demographic information, including race and ethnic
origin, family background, and household structure. Seniors (but not
sophomores) were asked a battery of questions about colleges applied
to, their self-reported admission status, and plans to attend
college.
A sample of 5,836 respondents from the senior cohort were re-interviewed
(Wave 2) one year after graduating from high school to ascertain
primary post-secondary school activity, military enlistment, labor
force participation, etc. They are currently being re-interviewed (Wave 3) during
spring, 2006, when a large majority of those who attended college
are juniors and seniors.
A sample of 3,092
respondents from the sophomore cohort were re-interviewed (Wave 2) during their senior year
to record their progress in high school, their college plans, and changes in other
circumstances.
The
Baseline Surveys and Senior Wave 2 public-use data sets are now
accessible through the OPR Data Archive.
Click here to access
THEOP survey
instruments and reports.
ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
The THEOP administrative data
consists of applicant and enrollee term records obtained from nine
Texas universities--seven public and two private institutions. For
the public institutions, freshman applicant data spans several years
prior to the implementation of the Texas Top 10% law in 1998, and
extends until at least 2002. Applicant data for the two private
institutions is available only for the period after implementation
of the automatic admission law.
Student record term files are
available for applicants who were accepted and subsequently
enrolled. These files register academic progress toward degree based
on credit hours completed, as well as term and cumulative grade
point averages (GPA). For most institutions, student record data
was obtained through at least 2004.
The file sizes and years
available for each institution are summarized below.
|
|
Applicant Data |
Student Record Data |
|
Institution |
N |
Years |
N |
Years |
|
Texas A&M |
163,027 |
1992-2002 |
637,028 |
1992-2007 |
|
Texas A&M Kingsville* |
18,872 |
1992-2002 |
93,748 |
1992-2004 |
|
UT Arlington |
29,844 |
1994-2002 |
51,315 |
1994-2002 |
|
UT Austin |
224,893 |
1990-2003 |
708,500 |
1990-2004 |
|
UT Pan American** |
48,460 |
1995-2002 |
115,812 |
1995-2005 |
|
UT San Antonio# |
61,221 |
1990-2004 |
151,180 |
1990-2004 |
|
Texas Tech |
105,376 |
1991-2003 |
288,066 |
1991-2004 |
|
Rice |
36,190 |
2000-2004 |
18,149 |
2000-2005 |
|
SMU |
45,549 |
1998-2005 |
60,672 |
1998-2005 |
* Applicant data for enrollees
only: 1992-1994
** Limited variables provided
# Applicant data for
enrollees only: 1990-1997
For ease of analysis across
institutions, THEOP administrative data has converted into a
standard, machine-readable format, with consistent variable names
and value labels across institutions. Additionally, several
variables have been constructed for both the applicant and student
record data sets.
All nine baseline files provide
data on personal applicants’ background, year of application, term
for which admission is desired, sex, ethnicity, Texas residency,
admission status, enrollment status, high school senior class size,
high school class rank, SAT score, ACT score, and desired major.
Some institutions also provided data on applicants’ US citizenship
status, birthplace, disability status, high school GPA, number of AP
tests taken and passed, SAT verbal and math scores, TOEFL score,
years of specific high school subjects completed (e.g. math,
English, science and social studies), participation in high school
extracurricular activities (band, drama, government, sports, honor
society, yearbook), and legacy status. Several additional high
school characteristics were appended to the individual applicant
records, including private high school status, Texas high school,
feeder high school, Longhorn or Century Scholarship high school; and
median College Board test score for test takers.
Enrolled
student term records provide data on year and term of application,
hours earned, semester and cumulative GPA, major(s), college
graduation date and, for some institutions, if a student was ever
placed on academic probation. Total number of hours earned and total
number of terms completed were constructed from the term files.
Public use files are not yet available, but interested researchers
should contact theop@opr.princeton.edu
for questions about data access
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