12-6-07, Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.

Study Finds That Black Freshman College Students Do Better Academically If They Have
Another Black Student From Their High School in Their Entering Class

Research presented at the recent conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management in Washington, D.C., finds that African-American college freshmen do better in school if there is at least one other black student from their high school at the same college.

In examining the academic performance of entering students at the University of Texas, researchers found that black freshman students with at least one other black student from their high school had on average a 0.13 point higher grade point average than black students who were the only African American in their high school class who went to the University of Texas.

The study was co-authored by Marta Tienda, professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University, and Jason M. Fletcher, an assistant professor of public health at Yale University. The authors report similar results for Hispanic students and they have also found that the same effect exists for minority students at other universities.