Good high schools raise lifetime earnings

A new NBER study finds that students who attend public high schools at the 80th percentile of the value‑added distribution (vs the 20th) are 11% more likely to enroll in college, 31% more likely to graduate four‑year, and earn about 25% (≈$10,500) more annually at age 30. These effects are measured in Massachusetts using longitudinal administrative and survey data and are concentrated where schools raise 10th‑grade test scores and college plans. — If robust and generalizable, the result implies that investing in raising high‑school value‑added is a high‑leverage policy for socioeconomic mobility and labor‑market outcomes.