blog post Improving On-Time Completion: Year-Round Pell Grants By Sara Adan Aug 12, 2016 One possible way to help lower-income college students graduate on time is to bring back the year-round Pell Grant.
Report K–12 Reforms and California’s English Learner Achievement Gap By Laura Hill May 30, 2018 English Learner (EL) students have been a key part of California’s K–12 system for decades. They currently make up about 21 percent of the public school population. English Learner status is meant to be temporary, and indeed, reclassified English Learners (those who are deemed English proficient) are among the best-performing students in the state. But students who remain ELs for longer periods generally have poor outcomes.
Report Getting to Graduation on Time at California State University By Jacob Jackson Nov 12, 2020 Students who take more than four years to graduate incur added costs—from paying extra tuition to forgoing years in the workforce. This report examines how a strategy of taking more courses in the first year at California State University may influence on-time graduation, while exploring how different groups benefit from a full course load.
Report Strengthening California’s Transfer Pathway By Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Hans Johnson, Cesar Alesi Perez, Jacob Jackson Aug 29, 2023 Increasing the number of California community college students who transfer to four-year institutions is critical for creating a more diverse pool of college graduates. Despite recent progress, transfer rates remain low and racial disparities persist. Several reforms are already underway, and higher education institutions must continue to work together so more students can reach their academic goals.
Explainer Is College Worth It? By Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Cesar Alesi Perez, Vicki Hsieh, Hans Johnson Mar 8, 2023 Rising college costs and a reluctance to take on debt lead many students and families to wonder if college will actually yield a brighter future with higher earnings and better jobs. In this explainer, we explore whether the benefits of a college degree outweigh the costs.
Report Low-Income Students and School Meal Programs in California By Caroline Danielson Mar 12, 2015 School nutrition programs help improve nutrition among vulnerable children. In so doing, they help build a better future for these children and the state. Now that California is implementing the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), there is additional reason to make sure all students who are eligible for free or low-cost meals enroll in these programs. Along with English Learners and foster youth, low-income students—in other words, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals—are targeted for additional funds under the LCFF. This renewed focus on enrollment could also prompt further consideration of participation in school nutrition programs. This report looks at factors that might be linked to variations in student enrollment and participation in free or reduced-price meals. Not surprisingly, we find that districts with higher poverty rates identify higher levels of eligibility than wealthier districts. Low-income high school students appear to be enrolled at levels comparable to younger students, but students in elementary school districts are much more likely to participate in lunch programs than students in other types of districts. We also find that schools in districts with higher shares of foreign-born residents have modestly lower participation levels (but not identification of low-income students). Finally, we find evidence that schools with smaller enrollments are more successful than larger schools at identifying and serving low-income students. One way to further the goal of full enrollment among low-income students is to cut the large share of low-income students who must submit applications for free or reduced-price meals. Achieving this objective is arguably an important part of a larger state effort to integrate social safety net programs and services.
