Early Childbearing and Completion of High School

Abstract

This article uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Work Experience of Youth (NLSY) for 4696 US women who were aged 20-26 in 1983, and thus were past the normal age of high school completion, to examine patterns of high school termination and completion associated with teenage childbearing. The role of the General Educational Development (GED) program is examined as the means by which teenage mothers obtain high school credentials once they have dropped out of school. Most employers, training programs and colleges accept the GED certificates in the same manner as they do regular high school diplomas. Tabulated data indicate that high school completion rates for women aged 20-26 in 1983 range from only 53% among women who gave birth within 7 months after leaving school, to 79% among those who became pregnant after leaving school. Among Hispanic mothers who gave birth shortly after leaving school, the proportion completing their 2ndary education is 20 points lower than it is among whites or blacks (33% vs. 55%). Among Hispanic mothers who became pregnant after leaving school, the proportion is nearly 30 points lower (55% vs. 81-85%). Overall, only 5% of young women obtain their high school credentials through the GED equivalency program. However, young mothers are about 2-3 times as likely to go this route as are childless women. The GED program emerges as the predominant means of high school completion among white mothers (51% of those with accreditation), whereas it is considerably less important among black mothers (28%). The data also indicate how age at childbearing is closely associated with the probability of school completion and the type of credential received. The analyses highlight the importance of the GED program for women who bear children at an early age. Among women who complete high school but bear a child prior to the date of high school accreditation, about 40% obtain their credential through the GED program. Most of the women who 1st give birth at ages 15-16 do not finish high school by their early 20s, but those who do finish are almost as likely to obtain a GED credential as they are to receive a standard diploma. Although it is possible that availability of the GED option may encourage some young mothers to prematurely terminate their formal schooling, in all likelihood it permits a greater number to receive high school accreditation.