Postsecondary education is associated with achieving economic self-sufficiency and other positive outcomes. Young people in foster care face challenges pursuing postsecondary education, which can lead to them being less likely than their peers to enroll in college and less likely to earn a degree when enrolled. One federal initiative meant to…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps people with low incomes avoid hunger and afford food. It stimulates the economy, improves individuals' success at school and work, and promotes better health. SNAP's Employment and Training (E&T) program is designed to assist participants in gaining skills, training, or work experience…

The federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program allocated US$7 billion over nearly a decade in an effort to produce rapid and lasting improvements in schools identified as low performing. In this article, we use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of Ohio's SIG turnaround efforts on student achievement and school…

In order to inform the Indiana State Board of Education's decision-making on Indiana's On My Way Pre-K Pilot program, researchers at the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) at Indiana University compiled existing data on ten states that have implemented pilot pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) programs and subsequently expanded these programs…

Section 104(a) of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 made the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) available to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and schools in high poverty areas. Under the CEP, families are not required to submit applications for free or reducedprice (FRP) meals, and schools must provide free lunch and breakfast…

The Pittsburgh Promise is a scholarship program that provides $5,000 per year toward college tuition for public high school graduates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who earned a 2.5 GPA and a 90% attendance record. This study used a difference-in-difference design to assess whether the introduction of the Promise scholarship program directly…

The cost of attending college has risen sharply over the last 40 years. Although more credit and grant aid have been made available to students, there are still major gaps between aid and the cost of attendance for many students in the United States, all of whom are left to figure out whether they can afford the remaining costs associated with…

This paper presents an executive summary of a study that uses a regression discontinuity (RD) design to assess the potential benefits of offering SES in districts that have unmet need. Specifically, the study focuses on six school districts in which more eligible students applied for SES than could be served with available funds (i.e.,…

This report presents the findings of an evaluation sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and conducted by Mathematica Policy Research (Mathematica) that uses a regression discontinuity (RD) design to assess the potential benefits of offering SES in districts that have unmet need.…

Policymakers and academics are increasingly interested in applying financial incentives to individuals in education. This paper presents evidence from a pay for performance program taking place in Coshocton, Ohio. Since 2004, Coshocton has provided cash payments to students in grades three through six for successful completion of their…

This is the first empirical study to examine the effects of Ohio's EdChoice voucher program. Using publicly available data, it measures the program's effect on academic outcomes in public schools where students are eligible for vouchers. The EdChoice program offers vouchers to students who are assigned to chronically underperforming public…