Findings for associate’s degree-seeking students on this page are based mainly on analysis of 559,068 associate’s degree-seeking students who entered one of 57 public institutions of higher education in Texas from 2008-09 through 2013-14. 

Cumulative net VAE values are averages, stated in 2023 dollars, for cohorts of entering students that include a mix of eventual completers and non-completers.

Cumulative net VAE for associate’s degree-seeking students who entered public institutions in Texas from 2008-09 through 2013-14 varied by students’ household income, high school math achievement, and age at entry.

• Household Income. Associate’s degree-seeking students who were not low-income experienced modestly higher cumulative net VAE ($28,128) than cohorts of students who were low-income ($20,766).
   
• High School Math Achievement. Associate’s degree-seeking students who excelled on standardized tests of high school math experienced substantially higher cumulative net VAE than students with lower math achievement. For example, students who scored in the 76th to 99th percentile on standardized tests of high school math experienced cumulative net VAE of $54,550. By contrast, low-achieving students who scored in the 1st to 25th percentile on standardized tests of high school math experienced cumulative net VAE of $6,915.
   
• Age at Entry. Associate’s degree-seeking students aged 20-24 at entry experienced higher cumulative net VAE ($36,279) than students under 20 at entry ($22,991).

Exhibit A8. Cumulative Net VAE for Associate’s Degree-seeking Students by Demographic Group, Entry Years 2008-09 through 2013-14

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Exhibit Note: Values are averages and in 2023 dollars. The size of each circle is proportional to the number of students in the sample for each demographic cohort.