Do Students of Noncollege-Educated Parents Achieve Less Academically Than Students of College-Educated Parents?

Abstract

The ethnicity, grade point average (GPA), and retention characteristics of 202 students whose parents never attended college, 244 students whose parents had some college experience, and 394 students whose parents graduated from college were examined. Analysis showed that a significantly higher percentage of minority students were first-generation students. No significant differences were found between the GPA and retention rates of first-generation students and those of the other two.