Effects of the High School Economics Curriculum on Learning in the College Principles Class

High school economics classes are often evaluated by whether they affect initial knowledge and learning in college economics classes. Research generally does not account for the fact that not all high school economics classes teach macroeconomic and microeconomic concepts as found in a college course. Using a nationwide database, the author found that when high school economics classes taught macro and micro concepts, students performed better on pretests in college classes when compared with students with no high school economics. The high school curriculum had little impact, however, on posttest scores.