High School and Beyond

University of Texas at Austin sociologist and Population Research Center affiliate Chandra Muller and economist Sandra Black have received a $3.2 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to study the effects of cognition on health, mortality, education and employment from high school and beyond. The three-year grant will support a Muller-led study that follows 14,825 respondents (born in 1964-65) of the nationally representative “High School and Beyond” survey. Designed and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the multiphase survey examines educational, vocational and personal development of young people beginning with their elementary or high school years, and following them as they begin to enter the workforce. The findings will provide important insights into three key areas of American public policy—health care, economics and education reform. After the third phase of the study, Muller aims to provide concrete answers for various national concerns, such as the longterm costs of mental illness, the effects of recession and employment on health and mortality, and the benefits of higher education for minority populations.