Education Policy Commons^™

Making College Worth It: Inequalities In Higher Education And How To Solve Them, Katharine Meyer

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Most students who graduate from college go on to earn higher wages, have more employment stability, and enjoy better health. While posted tuitions are high, a “high price, high aid” approach to college pricing means that the average cost of college has actually declined in recent years. Yet, public confidence in higher education is at an all-time low. What explains this tension? Who gains from going to college and who does not? What can colleges do to change perceptions about the value of a college education? This lecture by Brookings Institution scholar Katharine Meyer highlights trends in college enrollment and …

"If I Go, I'Ll Probably End Up Dropping Out Too": College Enrollment Choices In A Free College Context, Gresham D. Collom, Ashton R. Cooper, Patrick Biddix, Alexis Hartley

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Publications and Other Works

Objective: In this qualitative study, we explored why students in a free community college environment in Tennessee chose not to enroll in college or dropped out of college shortly after enrolling. Methods: We conducted 27 in-depth interviews with individuals who were eligible for the Tennessee Promise. Perna’s (2006) conceptual model for college access and choice guided our analysis. We analyzed data using a three-tier approach, which included open/emergent coding, followed by a priori/theoretical analysis. Results: We identified 15 emergent themes common among interview participants, which we then categorized into the four constructs of Perna’s model. Conclusions: …

Science And Engineering State Indicators: Mountain West States, Olivia K. Cheche, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines the Science & Engineering State Indicators database from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Public Charter And District Public Schools In The Mountain West, 2019-2021, Zachary Billot, Kristian Thymianos, Vanessa Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet explores data from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) report, “Voting With Their Feet: A State-Level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Trends.” Specifically, we examine enrollment trends for district public schools and public charter schools in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years.

Public University And College Enrollment In The Mountain West, 2019-2021, Dielle T. Telada, Katie M. Gilbertson, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

On June 10, 2021, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released the Spring 2021 Current Term Enrollment Estimates (CTTE) report. The report provides estimated postsecondary enrollment numbers based on the Clearinghouse universe of institutions. The impact of COVID-19 related disruptions has caused higher education enrollment to fall to what the National Student Clearinghouse suggests are “new lows.” This fact sheet explores trends in higher education enrollment at Mountain West colleges during the 2020 and 2021 Spring semesters.

Charter School Funding: Support For Students With Disabilities, Cassidy Syftestad, Patrick J. Wolf, Wendy Tucker, Lauren Morando Rhim

School Choice Demonstration Project

The subject of public charter schools and students with disabilities is both important and sensitive. These students have the potential to benefit greatly from the smaller size and specialized focus of many public charter schools, but questions persist regarding whether all or even most charters are as receptive to enrolling students with disabilities as they are to serving students who do not have disabilities. Furthermore, do differences in enrollment of students with disabilities explain differences in funding between the two sectors? To shine a brighter light on this vital question, we have conducted a careful study of the funding surrounding …

A Quasi-Experimental Investigation Of Tennessee Promise And Career And Technical Education Postsecondary Enrollment Responses, Gresham D. Collom

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Publications and Other Works

In this study I deployed quasi-experimental methods to explore the effect of the implementation of a statewide free-college program, Tennessee Promise, on enrollment in postsecondary career and technical education programs. State policymakers implemented the Tennessee Promise, a free-college program for recent high school graduates attending public, two-year institutions, in 2015. As postsecondary attainment in the United States falls short of workforce needs, there has been an increased focus on postsecondary career and technical education credentials and degrees linking workforce needs directly with educational programs (Lumina, 2019; Perkins V, 2019). However, it is currently unknown whether access to statewide free-college funding …

Kenya's Constituency Development Fund, Free Secondary Education Policy, And Access To Secondary Education, Charles Kyalo Nzuki

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The effects of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and the Free Secondary Education Policy (FSEP) on access to secondary school education in Kenya's Yatta sub-county have not been adequately explored in available public policy literature. Hence, this qualitative multiple-case study was designed to understand the effects of the 2 policies on both enrollment and dropout among secondary school age children in Yatta. The study was conducted in 1 mixed-boarding secondary school and 1 secondary day school in Yatta. The study was built on an adapted Huisman and Smits' theoretical model on dropout among students in developing countries. The data were …

Opening The Gates To Ap Equity: A Case Study Of A Central Virginia High School’S Practices, Policies, And Characteristics Toward Proportional Black Student Representation In Advanced Placement Enrollment, Andrew R. Armstrong

Theses and Dissertations

Advanced Placement (AP) courses engage high school students with college curriculum taught by trained high school teachers, with an opportunity for students to earn college credit by passing the end-of-course AP exam. AP has evolved into an indicator of school quality, instructional rigor, and a consideration in the college admissions process. AP enrollment and exam performance outcomes for White students disproportionately surpass those for Black students. This study attempts to inform practice, policy, and programming toward more equitable enrollment outcomes for Black students through a single case study. The selected case school was the only high school among 38 in …

Effects Of The Illinois Budget Crisis On Home-Based Childcare Businesses, Okeycha Pettigrew

All Capstone Projects

There are over 800,000 children in Illinois that need to be placed in early learning programs. Many programs are closing due to the lack of financial support from government programs that provide financial assistance to parents who cannot afford to pay for childcare. The budget crisis that Illinois is currently experiencing has caused a decrease in funding early childhood education, and has cut many programs that are beneficial to home-based childcare businesses. What is happening to the children and the families that depend on childcare assistance? How does that affect the economy? What will happen to the communities that need …

In Search Of "Real" Migrants: The Effects Of County Level Factors On Enrollment In The Migrant Education Program In Kentucky, Thomas Hatton

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Migrant laborers and their families have historically faced, and continue to face, major barriers in their education. The migrant population is, according to Dr. Michael Romanowski, “the most undereducated major subgroup in the United States” (Romanowski, 2003). The lack of educational attainment among migrant families can be attributed to numerous factors: above all, the disruptive migratory lifestyle of seasonal agricultural workers (Rosenthal & Banz-Spall, 2003), but also to socioeconomic burdens, mental and physical health issues, and more recently, linguistic and cultural barriers.

The Migrant Education Program is a supplemental federal program that was created under Title 1 Part C of …

Teacher Characteristics On Student Achievement: An Examination Of High Schools In Ohio, Angela H. Rockstroh

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Teachers are the most important school-based factor in affecting student achievement levels. Knowing what teacher characteristics influence student achievement and whether or not schools in different locations have dissimilar student achievement levels will help administrators prioritize who to hire, retain, and assign to classes. The purpose of this paper is to answer two questions. The first question is whether teacher characteristics are related to student achievement; the second is whether there are differences in student achievement based on school location. A review of teacher quality, teacher incentives, teacher background, the ability of a school to attract teachers, and differences in …

Are Big Schools Bad Schools?: Measuring The Effects Of The Number And Size Of Schools On District Costs And Student Achievement, Jamie Steiner

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

As state governments shrink their budgets, more school districts are debating consolidation. In considering school consolidation, governments must evaluate costs per pupil and student achievement. Factors associated with costs per pupil include schools per district, district enrollment, income per individual, percent of pupils eligible for free lunch, pupil-teacher ratio, and average teacher salary. Factors associated with achievement include school enrollment, percent of pupils eligible for free lunch, suspension/expulsion rates, pupil-teacher ratio, and average teacher salary. This paper presents a regression model that analyzes the effects of school enrollment and schools per district on costs per pupil and standardized test passing …

The Significance Of Projecting Enrollment In Determining School District Apportionment Revenue In Washington State For 1979, Charles M. Plesha

All Graduate Projects

The enrollment of the Sunnyside School District for the 1979-80 school year was estimated. This enrollment figure determined the potential staff allocation size, which in turn determined the 3010 apportionment revenues from the state. Revenues, likewise, determined the district's 00, 30 and 97 programs' staff expenditures. Those predictions were made for the general fund budget only. In addition, other revenues received from the state by Sunnyside School District, which effected the 3010 apportionment account, were explained. Actual historical enrollment data of Sunnyside School District No. 201 were utilized to make all projections as meaningful as possible.