Decisions about whether and where to go to college can make a difference in students' later success. However, many students from low-income families--"undermatch"--they do not enroll at all or do not enroll in the most selective college they likely could attend. This study investigated whether promising advising strategies, bundled…

This appendix is a companion to the "Study of Enhanced College Advising in Upward Bound: Impacts on Where and How Long Students Attend College" (ED615732) report. The appendix provides additional information about the "Find the Fit" enhanced advising strategies and the study that assessed its effectiveness when implemented…

Guided by the social cognitive theory, this randomized controlled trial tested the "Make a Move," a provider-led intervention for Head Start parents aimed to produce changes in the outcomes of knowledge, attitude, and behavior of physical activity and healthy eating. Participants were parents of children ages 3-5 years enrolled in a Head…

This paper reviews prior research to assess the effectiveness of Title I in closing the achievement gaps of disadvantaged students vis-à-vis their non-disadvantaged counterparts. A research synthesis approach is adopted to summarize national assessments of Title I conducted between 1966 and 2011. These analyses are supplemented by the authors'…

Food assistance programs--including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps), the National School Lunch Program, and the School Breakfast Program--have been remarkably successful at their core mission: reducing food insecurity among low-income children. Moreover, writes Craig Gundersen, SNAP in particular has also been…

This case study describes the peer evaluation system the Maricopa County Educational Services Agency (MCESA) is using in the districts participating in its Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) 3 and 4 grants. Maricopa County's TIF districts cover much of the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area. Including both TIF 3 and 4 cohorts, 12 districts with a total…

Head Start (HS) is the largest federally funded preschool program for disadvantaged children. Research has shown relatively small impacts on cognitive and social skills; therefore, some have questioned its effectiveness. Using data from the Head Start Impact Study (3-year-old cohort; N = 2,449), latent class analysis was used to (a) identify…

In his testimony, Jon Baron, president of Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, recommends reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) Program. He outlines three reasons that support his recommendation: (1) MIECHV represents an important, bipartisan departure from the usual approach to social…

Program administrators and policy makers have placed a priority on expanding access to inclusive, center-based early care and education (ECE) for low-income children with special needs, a "doubly vulnerable" population characterized by academic and social-emotional achievement gaps at kindergarten entry. Yet, no research has documented…

The Federal Work-Study (FWS) program is one of the oldest federal programs intended to promote college access and persistence for low-income students. Since 1964, the program has provided approximately $1 billion annually to cover up to 75 percent of the wages of student employees, who typically work on campus for 10 to 15 hours per week. The FWS…

The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program, more commonly known as GEAR UP, is a product of federal legislation designed to increase high school completion and college attendance of low-­income youth. It is a federally funded discretionary grant program that is planned, organized and operated at the state and local level.…

Since 1969, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) has reached more than 31 million low-income families and youth, improving their diets and food-related behaviors. Each year, EFNEP enrolls more than half a million new program participants. In 2013, EFNEP reached 121,025 adults and 418,961 youth directly and nearly 360,000…

Attending high-quality early childhood care and education (ECCE) is associated with higher cognitive and social-emotional skills, especially for children growing up in poverty, but access to high-quality ECCE is limited. This study capitalizes on the random assignment design of the Head Start Impact Study to better understand whether the…

Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements have existed in some form in the federal student aid programs for nearly 40 years--and have become increasingly strict--yet only limited research exists regarding their motivations and consequences. In this brief, the authors discuss two recent CAPSEE studies they conducted that examine the…

Due to rising costs and declining affordability, many students have to work while attending college. The federal government takes a major role in subsidizing the wages of college students and spent over $1 billion on the Work-Study program in 2010-11 (College Board, 2011), yet little is known about how working during the school year impacts…