When “Journalism Kids” Do Better: A Reassessment of Secondary and Post-Secondary Achievement and Activities

Using data from the nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, this study examined how journalism participation in high school relates to subsequent academic outcomes. The analysis statistically controlled for a host of correlates of academic achievement, isolating the associations between journalism participation and subsequent outcomes. Results indicated that students who take more journalism in high school score higher than their peers on standardized tests of English; are more likely to major in journalism or related fields; and when they do, have higher grades in college English. Students who participate in extracurricular journalism also see some of these gains

Who Are the “Journalism Kids?” Academic Predictors of Journalism Participation in Secondary Schools

Prior scholastic journalism research did not adequately address the possibility that journalism students perform better academically because of their backgrounds and inherent abilities. Using Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 data, this study shows that high school journalism attracts better students. Although for-credit and extracurricular programs differentiate journalism student characteristics, journalism students generally tend to have greater English self-efficacy, higher English grade point average, greater involvement in schools, be female and White, or have a higher socioeconomic background than those who do not participate in journalism. Future assessments of journalism’s contribution to academic achievement should account for students’ pre-journalism characteristics