You can’t get federal student aid unless you fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Research suggests that helping students complete a FAFSA can increase the number of students who receive financial aid, the amount of aid they receive–even the proportion of students who enroll in college. The American Council on Education estimates that nearly one in five low-income studContinue Reading »

There’s good news and bad news in the latest results from Maryland’s high school exit exams. The good news is that all but 33 students, out of nearly 60,000, passed the requirements. The bad news is that all but 33 students, out of nearly 60,000, passed the requirements. Those numbers are down from 2009, when 52 students were withheld a high school diploma for failing to pass the exContinue Reading »

When the junior senator from Iowa banged the gavel twenty minutes late to begin yesterday’s Senate HELP Committee hearing, I was anticipating a good, meaty policy conversation on revamping high school accountability. After all, Senator Harkin titled the Tuesday afternoon event “ESEA Reauthorization: Improving America’s Secondary Schools.” Even the witnesses promised toContinue Reading »