This paper by Robert D. Mare examines the effects of parental socioeconomic characteristics and family structure on the probability of making selected school transitions for white American males. Using logistic response models and maximum likelihood estimation, Mare finds that the influence of these factors declines sharply from the earliest to the latest school transitions. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for understanding changes in the level and distribution of schooling. Mare argues that while completed grades of schooling are a suitable measure of ultimate educational status, examining school continuation decisions at each level of schooling provides deeper insights into how educational attainment depends on family structure and socioeconomic characteristics. The analysis is based on data from the 1973 Occupational Changes in a Generation (OCG) Survey and the 1964 survey of U.S. military veterans. The results show that the effects of parental income, occupation, and education on school continuation decisions decrease over the course of schooling, with the most significant decline occurring from high school graduation to college attendance. The paper also explores the impact of other social background factors such as family income, number of siblings, broken family, farm background, and southern birth on school continuation decisions. Overall, the findings suggest that the effects of social background on educational attainment are not invariant across different levels of schooling and that the process of educational stratification is influenced by both fixed and variable factors.This paper by Robert D. Mare examines the effects of parental socioeconomic characteristics and family structure on the probability of making selected school transitions for white American males. Using logistic response models and maximum likelihood estimation, Mare finds that the influence of these factors declines sharply from the earliest to the latest school transitions. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for understanding changes in the level and distribution of schooling. Mare argues that while completed grades of schooling are a suitable measure of ultimate educational status, examining school continuation decisions at each level of schooling provides deeper insights into how educational attainment depends on family structure and socioeconomic characteristics. The analysis is based on data from the 1973 Occupational Changes in a Generation (OCG) Survey and the 1964 survey of U.S. military veterans. The results show that the effects of parental income, occupation, and education on school continuation decisions decrease over the course of schooling, with the most significant decline occurring from high school graduation to college attendance. The paper also explores the impact of other social background factors such as family income, number of siblings, broken family, farm background, and southern birth on school continuation decisions. Overall, the findings suggest that the effects of social background on educational attainment are not invariant across different levels of schooling and that the process of educational stratification is influenced by both fixed and variable factors.