IOWA CITY, Iowa — Current high school students are optimistic about their chances of experiencing 17 future life outcomes, including having a well-paying career, owning a home, and having good health, according to a new report from ACT, the nonprofit organization that administers the ACT college readiness exam. The report also suggests that students believe they have many positive things to look forward to despite the challenges and stress of the pandemic.
“The study shows that members of Generation Z are, on average, optimistic about their own futures, convinced that they will have financial stability, happy families, and positive social connections,” said ACT CEO Janet Godwin. “Today’s high school students are hopeful of achieving the kinds of outcomes that define a successful life.”
High school students were generally optimistic about the future, with an average rating of 4.01 on a 1-5 scale, aligned with the scale’s “high” chances category, and more than 80 percent of students reporting high levels of optimism that their lives would turn out well overall.
The study, High School Students’ Perspectives on Their Futures, examined students’ perspectives on their futures and how students’ backgrounds, such as family income and race/ethnicity, affected their outlooks. A random sample of students was surveyed in February 2022 and asked about their chances of experiencing future outcomes, such as having an enjoyable career, being able to own a home, and being in good health. Students were also asked if their chances of experiencing these outcomes would have been different (more positive or less positive) if they had been asked about them two years ago, before the pandemic began.
“We found that the pandemic had little effect on optimism for most students. It did not affect most students’ outlooks on important events, like having a fulfilling career and being able to save, invest, and retire, and this was consistent across racial and ethnic groups and family income category,” said ACT lead research scientist Jeff Schiel, who conducted the study. “However, 19% of students reported that their outlooks would have been somewhat more positive before the pandemic began, and 9% percent reported that their outlooks would have been a lot more positive, suggesting that for nearly one-third of students, the pandemic might have had a negative influence.”
The study found racial/ethnic differences in student optimism. Black students had higher estimated chances of experiencing 15 of the 17 future outcomes, on average, than did students in other racial/ethnic groups. And irrespective of family income category, Black students reported the highest estimates, on average, of the chances of having a better life than their parents had or of their children having a better life than they have had. In comparison, white students reported the lowest estimates, on average, of experiencing these outcomes. For all future outcomes, Black students in the low-income category had higher average estimates of the chances of each outcome happening than did students of other races/ethnicities in that same income category. Asian students across all family income categories reported noticeably lower estimated chances of having careers that they enjoy and happy family lives, on average, than did students of other races/ethnicities.
Student optimism was found to vary based on family income, a measure of socioeconomic status. For example, students with low reported family income indicated that they only had about a 50-50 chance of having adequate financial resources to complete college, on average, while students with high reported family income indicated that their average chances were high. The study found that family income is related to student optimism, irrespective of race/ethnicity, and that family income was a statistically significant, although not particularly strong, predictor of students’ estimated chances for 13 of the 17 future outcomes. Family income was not a statistically significant predictor for having steady employment throughout your career, having a happy family life, having hobbies you enjoy, and life turning out well overall.
Key findings:
- High school students in this study were generally optimistic about the future. Means for the 17 future outcomes ranged from 3.68 (chances of having adequate financial resources to complete college) to 4.32 (chances of having enjoyable hobbies) on a five-point scale. The typical mean across all outcomes was 4.01, which aligned with the scale’s “high” chances category.
- Consistent with previous research, student optimism was found to vary based on a measure of socioeconomic status, family income. For example, students’ estimates of the chances that they would have adequate financial resources to complete college varied considerably across reported family income category.
- For some students in this study, the future seemed somewhat less promising. A notable proportion of students (28 percent) reported that their estimates of the chances of future outcomes would have been somewhat or a lot more positive if they had made their estimates before the COVID-19 pandemic began. For 15 of the outcomes, these students’ estimates were significantly lower than those of students who reported that their estimates would have been about the same if made before the pandemic began. These formerly positive students might have had very different experiences and/or more challenges during the pandemic than did their peers, which in turn could have led to their noticeably different perspectives on the future.
- Analyses by race/ethnicity revealed that, for nine of the future outcomes (career that pays well, career you enjoy, steady employment during career, live wherever you want to in the country, hobbies you enjoy, financial resources to retire comfortably, better life than parents had, children will have a better life, and life turns out well overall), Black students had statistically significantly higher estimates, on average, of experiencing each outcome than did students of other races/ethnicities.
- When the data were examined by race/ethnicity and family income, a remarkable finding was observed among low-income students: Black students in the low-income category were more optimistic about their futures than were students of other races/ethnicities in that same income category.
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About ACT
ACT is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve education and workplace success. Grounded in more than 60 years of research, ACT is a trusted leader in college and career readiness solutions. Each year, ACT serves millions of students, job seekers, schools, government agencies and employers in the US and around the world with learning resources, assessments, research and credentials designed to help them succeed from elementary school through career. Visit us at www.act.org.
Contact: ACT Media Relations; publicrelations@act.org