This study used the existing database of 1,052 schools contained in the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 to examine the predictors that were related to high school students' enrollment in postsecondary education (PSE). In order to determine which school-related experiences had an impact on the students' enrollment in PSE, a multiple regression analysis was conducted.

The results indicate that student attendance rates and "being held back" are significant predictors for predicting postsecondary enrollment across all analyses and for subpopulations disaggregated by race, SES, and gender. Recommendations to encourage student enrollment in postsecondary programs include providing grade level interventions to avoid the detrimental effects of a student repeating a grade, as well as developing programs to increase student engagement levels in the high school setting.

Limitations to the study include control strategies for confounding factors. The inclusion of additional control variables, such as parents' level of education, would increase the validity of the findings.