scholarly journals SMART Money: Do Financial Incentives Encourage College Students to Study Science?

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent J. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Financial Incentive ◽  
Pell Grant ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Smart Money ◽  
Null Result ◽  
And Mathematics

Increasing the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees is a major federal education priority. I investigate whether providing a $4,000 financial incentive to low-income students in their junior and senior years of college induces them to major in a STEM field. Using administrative data from Ohio public colleges, I exploit a discontinuity in income eligibility for the National SMART Grant on the pursuit of science majors. Regression discontinuity results indicate financial incentives do not encourage students at the threshold of eligibility to choose STEM majors in their junior year. The null findings are fairly precise, ruling out modest, policy relevant effects for students near the Pell Grant eligibility threshold. I examine several potential explanations of this null result and argue that federal policy makers could improve the design of the program by creating the financial incentive earlier in students’ educational careers.

Pricing Out the Disadvantaged? The Effect of Tuition Deregulation in Texas Public Four-Year Institutions

2014 ◽  
Vol 655 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stella M. Flores ◽  
Justin C. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
College Enrollment ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
State Legislature ◽  
Pell Grant ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Four Year Institutions ◽  
Tuition Deregulation

This article examines whether tuition deregulation in Texas (in 2003 the state legislature gave tuition-setting authority to institutional governing boards) has affected the college enrollment of underrepresented and low-income students. Using a difference-in-differences research design, we find that Hispanic students have been most negatively affected by tuition deregulation. Results for black students are largely mixed, in that we find an increase in college enrollment after deregulation in some specifications, while Pell Grant recipients, incoming and returning, appear to have experienced an increase in college enrollment following deregulation. Implications and recommendations for state governments considering this contentious legislation are provided.

Pell Grant Versus Income Data in Postsecondary Research

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 309-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Ochs Rosinger ◽  
Karly S. Ford
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Income Quintile ◽  
Pell Grant ◽  
Detailed Data ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Economic Diversity ◽  
Income Status ◽  
Income Data ◽  
Recent Policy

Given growing disparities in college enrollment by household income, policymakers and researchers often are interested in understanding whether policies expand access for low-income students. In this brief, we highlight the limitations of a commonly available measure of low-income status—whether students receive a federal Pell grant—and compare it to new data on enrollment by income quintile to evaluate a recent policy effort within elite colleges aimed at expanding access. We demonstrate that Pell is a rough measure of low-income status and that without more detailed data on colleges’ economic diversity, policy evaluations focusing on existing Pell data will suffer from measurement error and potentially miss enrollment effects for moderate- and high-income students.

Intersectorial educational incentive and youth leadership program: promoting opportunities

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A M M Vieira ◽  
R C C B Secundino ◽  
M S P Ortiz ◽  
V D S Castro ◽  
M I B Amaral ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Young People ◽  
Extracurricular Activities ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Youth Violence ◽  
Financial Incentive ◽  
Financial Education ◽  
The Government ◽  
Governmental Institutions

Abstract The Poupança Escola Program, created by municipal law and part of the Prevention Axis of the Niterói Pact Against Violence, aims to encourage young people from low-income communities and members of Bolsa Família Program, to study and complete high school. To receive the financial incentive in addition to the annual approval, the student must participate in mandatory extracurricular activities offered by the Municipality, such as courses and workshops on financial education, health education, entrepreneurship, among others. Its implementation results from a collective construction, wich had the participation of Niterói Pact Against Violence's secretariats and the Program Supervision Commission, in order to stimulate the agreement and shared management. In 2019, of 281 eligible students, 231 pre-registered on the program's website and of this total, 72.29% students opened their savings account in a public bank. After analyzing the 2019's monitoring informations of Niterói's public schools, students who met all requirements were identified and the first financial incentives was paid, totaling R$ 41.400,00 (about $ 10,000). For that, it was necessary an intense work of intra-municipal articulation and partnerships: the Government of Rio de Janeiro and federal schools, strengthening the reduction of school dropout. In 2020, the challenge will be to expand the availability of extracurricular activities, through public partnerships and non-governmental institutions, with the aim of improving the professional and citizen training of young people, encouraging their autonomy and protagonism over their future and contributing to the reduction of inequities. It is important to highlight the potential for replicability of the experience in other units of the federation and also for other countries. Key messages As a public policy, Poupança Escola encourages low-income youth to develop professional and citizen training, contributing to the reduction of risk factors that influence youth violence rates. Extracurricular activities expand opportunities for generating skills and abilities, contributing to the reduction of inequalities in access for low-income youth.

scholarly journals The effect of a fresh produce incentive paired with cooking and nutrition education on healthy eating in low-income households: a pilot study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Angela R Fertig ◽  
Xuyang Tang ◽  
Heather M Dahlen
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Financial Incentive ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Control Group

Abstract Objective: This study pilot-tested combining financial incentives to purchase fruits and vegetables with nutrition education focused on cooking to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables and improve attitudes around healthy eating on a budget among low-income adults. The goal of the pilot study was to examine implementation feasibility and fidelity, acceptability of the intervention components by participants and effectiveness. Design: The study design was a pre-post individual-level comparison without a control group. The pilot intervention included two components, a scan card providing free produce up to a weekly maximum dollar amount for use over a 2-month period, and two sessions of tailored nutrition and cooking education. Outcomes included self-reported attitudes about healthy eating and daily fruit and vegetable consumption from one 24-h dietary recall collected before and after the intervention. Setting: Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area in Minnesota. Participants: Adults (n 120) were recruited from five community food pantries. Results: Findings indicated that the financial incentive component of the intervention was highly feasible and acceptable to participants, but attendance at the nutrition education sessions was moderate. Participants had a statistically significant increase in the consumption of fruit, from an average of 1·00 cup/d to 1·78 cups/d (P < 0·001), but no significant change in vegetable consumption or attitudes with respect to their ability to put together a healthy meal. Conclusions: While combining financial incentives with nutrition education appears to be acceptable to low-income adult participants, barriers to attend nutrition education sessions need to be addressed in future research.

Teacher Turnover in High-Poverty Schools: What We Know and Can Do

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Simon ◽  
Susan Moore Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
School Context ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
High Poverty Schools ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Poor

Background/Context Over the past three decades, teacher turnover has increased substantially in U.S. public schools, especially in those serving large portions of low-income students of color. Teachers who choose to leave high-poverty schools serving large numbers of students of color usually transfer to schools serving wealthier, Whiter student populations. Some researchers have interpreted this trend to mean that “teachers systematically favor higher-achieving, non-minority, non-low-income students.” These ideas have influenced policy analysis concerning high-poverty schools but offered little guidance for those who would address this problem. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This article presents an alternative explanation for turnover—one grounded in organizational theory and substantiated by an emerging line of research. In doing so, it reframes the debate over what fuels high rates of teacher turnover in high-poverty schools and provides advice for policy makers and practitioners, as well as recommendations for productive possibilities for future research. Research Design This article reviews six studies analyzing turnover as a function of school context rather than as a function of student demographics. Based on the patterns regarding what factors influence teacher departures across these studies, we pursue these predictors by summarizing what is known about them and how each supports teachers’ work. Findings/Results The six overarching studies reviewed here collectively suggest that teachers who leave high-poverty schools are not feeing their students. Rather, they are feeing the poor working conditions that make it difficult for them to teach and for their students to learn. The working conditions that teachers prize most—and those that best predict their satisfaction and retention—are social in nature. They include school leadership, collegial relationships, and elements of school culture. Conclusions/Recommendations The poor working conditions common in America's neediest schools explain away most, if not all, of the relationship between student characteristics and teacher attrition. This is important because, unlike demographic characteristics of students, working conditions can be addressed. Policy makers and practitioners have many options for improving aspects of the school environment, and, although more research can inform this work, much is already known about what matters to teachers as they are deciding whether to continue teaching in their schools.

scholarly journals ProPelled: The Effects of Grants on Graduation, Earnings, and Welfare

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey T. Denning ◽  
Benjamin M. Marx ◽  
Lesley J. Turner
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Financial Aid ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Public Colleges ◽  
Pell Grant ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Federal Grant ◽  
Four Year Institutions ◽  
First Time

We estimate effects of the Pell Grant—the largest US federal grant for college students—using administrative data from Texas public colleges and a discontinuity in grant generosity for low-income students. Within four-year institutions, eligibility for additional grant aid significantly increases first-time students’ degree completion and later earnings. Our estimated impacts on earnings alone are enough to fully recoup government expenditures within 10 years, suggesting that financial aid likely pays for itself several times over. (JEL H75, I22, I23, I26, J24, J31)

scholarly journals Accelerating Evaluation of Financial Incentives for Fruits and Vegetables: A Case for Shared Measures

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 12140
Author(s):  
Nadine Budd Nugent ◽  
Carmen Byker Shanks ◽  
Hilary K. Seligman ◽  
Hollyanne Fricke ◽  
Courtney A. Parks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Financial Incentive ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Dietary Quality ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
The U.S

Food insecurity, or lack of consistent access to enough food, is associated with low intakes of fruits and vegetables (FVs) and higher risk of chronic diseases and disproportionately affects populations with low income. Financial incentives for FVs are supported by the 2018 Farm Bill and United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) and aim to increase dietary quality and food security among households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and with low income. Currently, there is no shared evaluation model for the hundreds of financial incentive projects across the U.S. Despite the fact that a majority of these projects are federally funded and united as a cohort of grantees through GusNIP, it is unclear which models and attributes have the greatest public health impact. We explore the evaluation of financial incentives in the U.S. to demonstrate the need for shared measurement in the future. We describe the process of the GusNIP NTAE, a federally supported initiative, to identify and develop shared measurement to be able to determine the potential impact of financial incentives in the U.S. This commentary discusses the rationale, considerations, and next steps for establishing shared evaluation measures for financial incentives for FVs, to accelerate our understanding of impact, and support evidence-based policymaking.

Do Students in Gifted Programs Perform Better? Linking Gifted Program Participation to Achievement and Nonachievement Outcomes

2021 ◽  
pp. 016237372110089
Author(s):  
Christopher Redding ◽  
Jason A. Grissom
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Student Mobility ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Program Participation ◽  
Exceptional Students ◽  
Gifted Programs ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Gifted Program ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Mathematics

Growing concerns about inequitable access have made public investment in gifted programs controversial in many school districts, yet advocates maintain that gifted services provide necessary enrichment for exceptional students to succeed at school. We provide evidence on whether the typical gifted program indeed benefits elementary students’ achievement and nonachievement outcomes, using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 2010–2011 kindergarten cohort. Leveraging within-school and within-student comparisons, we find that participating in a school’s gifted program is associated with reading and mathematics achievement for the average student, although associations are small. We find no evidence of a relationship between gifted participation and student absences, reported engagement with school, or student mobility. Black and low-income students do not see the academic gains that their peers experience when receiving gifted services.

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