WWC Quick Review: Performance-Based Scholarships Study March 2009

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What is this study about?

This study examined whether community college students are more likely to persist in school if they are offered financial incentives tied to school performance.

The study included 1,019 low-income parents enrolled at two Louisiana community colleges.

Eligible students who had not previously taken college-level courses at the community college and volunteered to participate were randomly assigned to either a treatment group that received the performance-based scholarship or a control group that did not.

The study authors analyzed school transcript data to assess effects on college enrollment and credits earned.

What did the study authors report?

The financial incentive program increased the percentage of community college students who were enrolled the second semester after random assignment (65%, compared with 50% for the control group). It also increased the average number of credits they earned during the first two semesters after random assignment (3.9 credits, compared with 2.8 for the control group).

Among students whose follow-up period was not interrupted by Hurricane Katrina, the intervention group was significantly more likely than the control group to be enrolled in school four semesters after random assignment (30% versus 23%) and had earned significantly more credits over that period (12.6 versus 9.2 credits).

WWC quick reviews are based on the evidence published in the report cited and rely on effect sizes and significance levels as reported by study authors. WWC does not confirm study authors’ findings or contact authors for additional information about the study. The WWC rating refers only to the results summarized above and not necessarily to all results presented in the study.