The Effects of Family Background, Test Scores, Personality Traits and Education on Economic ...

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DOCUMENT NESOME
ED 141 854 95 CE 012 481
'AUTHOR Jencks, Christopher; Rainwater, Lee
TITLE The Effects of Family Background, Test Scores,
Personality Traits and Education on Economic
Success.
INSTITUTION Center for the Study of Public Policy, Cambridge,
Mass.
SPONS AGENCY Employment and Training Adainistratioa (DOL),
Washington, D.C.; National Inst. of Education*(DHEW),
Washington, D.C.
PUB DATE Apr 77
GRANT NIE-G-74-0077
.NOTE 883p.; For a rented document see CE 012 476. Several
charts and pages may not reproduce well due to faint
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DESCRIPTORS *Academic Achievement; Cognitive Tests; Demography;
*Economic Status; *Educational Experience;,
*Employment Level, *Family Background; Income;
*Individual Characteristics; Males; National Surveys;
Occupations; Personality; Personality Tests; Racial
Differences; Research Methodology; Social Indicators;
Social Science Research; Socioeconomic Status;
Statistical Analysis; Test Results
NBSTRACT, -t
Ten surveys of American men aged 25-64 were analyzed
to determine the effects of family background, adolescent personality
traits, cognitive test scores, and years of schooling on occupational
status and' earnings in maturity. Some of the findings follow -Data on
brothers indicated that prior research has underestiaated the effect
of family background on earnings. Adolescentstest scores indicated
that cognitive skills have a substantial effect on-occupational
status and earnings independent of background. Data on adolescent
behavior indicated that personality traits may exert as much impact
on economic success as cognitive skills. Controlling. background and
adolescent testiscores indicated that'less than half the obserYed
association between years 'of schooling and earnings is causal. (The
last, third of this report covers the study's methodology. It examines
the measures used regarding' economic success,' family background, test
scores and years, of schooling; describes the statistical .methods; and
pinpoints the reasons for differences between the nine principals
samples. An appendix describing the samples used in this study is
available as a separate document.) OM)
4_
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the original:
THE EFFECTS OF FAMILY BACKGROUND, TEST SCORES, PERSONALITY
TRAITS AND EDUCATION ON ECONOMIC SUCCESS
111
Christopher Jencks and Lee RainwateF, Pr>lal Investigators
Center for the Study of Public Policy
123 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
ContriAttions by
Susan Bartlett, Center for Community Economic Development, Cambridge
Mary Corcoran, Department of Politica, Science, University of Michigan
James Crouse, Department of Educational'Foundations, University of
Delaware
Davis Eaglesfield, Office of Information Technology, Harvard University
Gregory Jackson, Graduate School of Education, Harvard Unive_rsity
Christopher Jencks, Center for the Study of Public Policy
Kent Moillelland, Department of Sociology, University of Miami
Peter Aueser, Center for the Study of Public Policy
Michael Olneck, Department of Educational Policy Studies,
Uni'versity of Wisconsin, Madison
Joseph Schwartz, Nuffield College, Oxford
Sherry Ward,-Department of Psychology and Social Relations,
Harvard University,
,Jill Williams, University of Vermont
U S DEPARTMENTOFNEALTN,
EDUCATION &WELFARE
Agri I .977 NATIONEADLU CINASTTIOITNUTE OF
THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO-
. DuCED EXACTLY AS PECeiVED FROM
SHE PE PSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN
T NG T POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS
srAiED DO NOT NECESSARILY RE:PRE-
FiC,AL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY
BEST COPY Alf-PaLAD
This report was prepared for the National Institute of Education and
the Employment and Training Administration of the US Department of
Labor under Grant # NIE-G-74-0077. Since grantees conducting such
projects are encouraged to express their judgment freely, thisreport
does not nedessarily represent the official opinion of the National
Institute of Education or the Department of Labor. The,authors are
. solely respohsible for'the content of the report. ,
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1.
! 211,LISGRAF HIC DATA 1
.1 S'IES.T j DLMA-NIE-G-74-007-1 . I
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14
Effects of Family Background Test Scores, Personality Traits, April 30, 1977
and Schooling on Economic Su)cess
17. Christopher Jencks, Susan Bartlett, Mary Corcoran,
(James Crouse, David Eaglesfield, Gregory Jackson, Kent McClella
:9 ' Peter Mueser, Michael Olneck,
/Ward,
Joseph Schwartz, Sherry Jill Williams
L I I
1Center for the Study of Public Policy .
'123 Mount Auburn Street NIE-G-74-007
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
12 13
U.S.
Final
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16 The report analyzes ten surveys of mensaged 25-64 to determine the effects
of family background, adolescent personality traits, Cognitive\test scores-, and years
ok schooling on occupational status and earnings in maturity. 4ta on brothers indicate
that prior research has underestimated the effect of 'familycbadicgtound.on earnings. The
effect of background on occupational status and earnings is only partly explained by its
effeqt on cognitive test scores or years of schooling. Adolescent, test scores indicate
that cognitive skills have a substantial effect on occupational sta us and earnings .
independent of background. These effects derive largely but not exc usively from thq
fact that test'scores affect years of school. Data on adolescent beh vior indicate
that adolescent personality tra,its may exert as much impact on economi success as
cognitive skills. Controlling background and adolescent test4scores,i isates that less
than half the o erved association between years of schooling and earns gs is causal.
Each extra ye of schooling appears to raise earnings by 3-6 pe'rcent, conomic behefit
of schoolin ell between 1939 and 1949. but
17 N. , idt, :/0.
17. a) Aptitude Tes s, Earnings, Education, Intelligence Tests, Motivation,' Negroes,
Personality,'Personality Tests, Psychological Tests, Socioeconomic status, surveys,
Tests
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Preface
4
This retort describes a two year study of the relationship between
-personal characteristics and economic success among 25-64 year old
American males. It is a collaborative work, involving 12 different
researchers.. All the authors devoted cdhsiderable effort not only
to the chapters on which their names appear but to chapters for which
A
.they receive no explicit credit.
Christopher Jencks directed the
projett.
We, have divided the report into three volumes. Volume I contains
our substantive findings regarding the impact of family background,
cognitive skills, personality traits, and years of schooling on
occupational status and earnings. It also analyzes changes over time
.
in effects of race, education, and labor force experience'on income,
Volume II-contains our methddological chapters. It begins with
three chaptersexamining our measures of,economic success, family
background, test acores, and years of schooling.. These chapters also
9
desc'ribe our statistical methods.
The next three chapters try to
pinpoint the reasons for differences between our nine principal
samples.
Volume III includes the ten appendices describing our ten,
samples in detail.
...\This document constitutes our final report'to the National
Institute of.Educationtand to the Employment and Training Administration
of the Department of Labor pursuant to Grant it NIE-G-74-0077.
The '
research was conducted ,under the auspicesof the Center for the Study
-1i-
of Public 'Policy, with the collaboration of the MIT-Harvard Joint Center'
for Urban Studies and the Harvard Center for Educational Policy
Research. The Joint Center's work in this area was supported by
grants frOmAhe Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's
Office of Income Security Policy Research and Evaluation. _The I
Center for-Educational Policy Research supported Olneck's study
of brothers raised In Kalamazool Michigan, using fUndsprovided
by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a doctoral fellowship
from the Manpower and Training Administration, and a Ford Foundation
grant to Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis. None of the flinding,
agencies made any attempt to influence our work, and none is in any 1
way responsible !or our conclusions.
We are indebted to David Featherman and Robert Hauser for making
available tabulations from their 1973 replication of the "Occupational
Changes in a Generation" (OCG) survey and for a copy of the'original
OCG data tape. The Survey Research Center (SRC) at the University of
Michigan made available data tapes from its "Productive Americans"
and "Panel Study of Income Dynamics" surveys. William Mason kindly
provided a copy of the 1964 vetet'ans suryey tape. The Project Talent
Data Bank retrieved data on 11th graders at our request and allowed
Marsha Brown t6 retrieve data on siblings. Michael Olneck generously,
shared his Kalamazoo data with the rest of us.
Jan Lennon administered the project, typed manuscript, and helped
ps all to maintain our sanity under a deluge of numbers that often
threatened to'ovtrwhelm us. Irene 'Goodsell and Sara Hazel also typed
much of the manuscript. None of them is responsible for the appearance
of the final product, howeVer, which refletts,the fact that we ran
out of money before completing our work. a
5
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/
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A
0
Zvi Griliches, Andrew Kohen, and Paul Taubman made. extremely
°
helpful comments on an earlier draft of this report.
Since we did
not always heed their advice, they
are obvidusly not responsible
for any remaining errors.
Basic Books expects to publish a substantially revised and
°
abbreyiated version of this report in 1978.
(
a
Chiistopher Jencks
N
April 30, 1977
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TABLE OF CONTENTS'
-S-
t
Faye
Voltme 1--Empirical Finding.p
1. An Overview of the Research '1
By Christopher Jencks
2. Effects of Family Background on Occupational Status. 40
By Mary Corcoran and Christopher Jencks
3. Effects'of Family Background-on EArnings 83
By Mary Corcoran
4. Effects of Academic Ability 114
By James Crouse
5. Effects of Personality Traits 200
By Peter Mueser
.
6. Effects of Education 292
By Michael Olneck
7. Changes in the Effects of Education and Experienc': 1939-1969 367
By Susan Bartlett
B. White-Nonwhite Differences in Education and Income: 1949-1973 390
By Joseph Schwartz and Jill Williams
9. Earnings and Family Income 455-
By Joseph Schwartz
10. The Determinants of Earn±ngs: A Summary 511
By Mary Corcorar;
-v-
Volume 2--Methodological Issues
11. Measuring Economic Success
536 f'
By Christopher Jencks
12. Measuring the Effects of Worker Characteristics that Affect
Success ,563
By Christopher Jencks
13. Estimated Reliability of Selected Socio-economic Measures
60Z,
By Christopher Jencks ,
14. Effects of Selected Sample RestrictiOns
629
By Christopher Jencks
15.7 Can Different Surveys be Made to Yield the Same Results?
659
By Gregory Jackson
s
16, Why Different Surveys Yield Different Results:
Education and Earnings 709
in the Census and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics
By Dent McClelland
Bibliography
798
V
4
4
4
-vi-
Appendices: Basic Characteristics'of the Data Sets
The 1970 Census 1/1000 Sgmple
By Susan Bartlett and Christopher Jenckl
B. The 1962 Survey of "Occupational Changes in a Generation"
By Gregory Jackson
C. The 1966 "Productive Americans" Survey
By Kent McClelland
D. The 1967-74 "Panel.Study of Income Dynamics"
By Peter Meuser
a
E. The 1973 NORC Amalgam Survey
By David Eaglesfield
F. The 1966 National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men
By Sherry Ward
G. The 1964 Veterans Survey
By Christopher Jencks
H. The 1960-1972 Project Talent Longitudinal Survey P.
By James Crouse
T. The 1974 Kalamazoo Brothers Survey
By Michael Olneck
J. Census'Data on Education and Income: 1940-1970
By Susan Bartlett
K. The Project Talent Sibling Sample
By James Crouse
J
a,
9
1
Chapter 1
OBJECTIVES AND RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH
By Christopher Jencks ..
L\*1
.
This report desc\ribes a three year investigation of the relationship between
pergpnal characteristics and economic success among American males aged 25-
64. It focusses in th6se personal characteristics that are determined before
a pan enters the labor market: his family background, his cognitive skills
1/4
and personality traits in adolescence, and the number of years of schooling he
completes. It does not devote muf:h attention to men's experiences after enter-'
ing the labor market or to personal characteristics that depend on such exper-
iences. Thus we do not anaylze the effects of work experience or on-the-job
training in any detail. Nor do we look at physical or mental health, or at
current region of residence (except ijsofar as this helps to explain the effects
of region of birth). Our aim is not to provide a complete picture of the worker
characteristics that employers value. Rather, it is to assess the degree to
which birth; childhood, and adolescence determine adult success.
When we launched this project in 1973 we were concerned with three major
deficiencies in earlier work (includidg our own) on these issues.
(1) Previous investigators had seldom had adequate measures
of family background, cognitive skills, or personality
traits for representative national samples.
(2) Previous investigators had often made statistical assumptitns
about the ways family background, oognitive
iu