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The role of application assistance and information in college decisions: Results from the H&R Block FAFSA experiment.
Bettinger, E., Long, B., Oreopoulos, P., & Sanbonmatsu, L. (2012). Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(3), 1205–1242.
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examining8,506Students, grades12-PS
The role of application assistance and information in college decisions: Results from the H&R Block FAFSA experiment.
Review Details
Reviewed: November 2013
- Single Study Review (117 KB) (findings for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Retention in college for 2 consecutive years following experiment |
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance vs. Another intervention |
April 2008-Dec 2011 |
Dependents;
|
0.36 |
0.28 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Enrolled in college during first year following experiment |
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance vs. Another intervention |
Year 1 |
Dependents;
|
0.42 |
0.34 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Enrolled in college during first year following experiment |
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance vs. Another intervention |
Year 1 |
Independents: No prior college;
|
0.12 |
0.10 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Filed FAFSA during first year following experiment |
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance vs. Another intervention |
Year 1 |
Independents: No prior college;
|
0.43 |
0.16 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Filed FAFSA during first year following experiment |
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance vs. Another intervention |
Year 1 |
Independents: Prior college;
|
0.52 |
0.32 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Filed FAFSA during first year following experiment |
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance vs. Another intervention |
Year 1 |
Dependents;
|
0.56 |
0.40 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Filed FAFSA during first year following experiment |
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance vs. Another intervention |
Posttest |
Independents: Prior college;
|
0.35 |
0.32 |
No |
-- | |
|
Received Pell Grant while attending college during first year following experiment |
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance vs. Another intervention |
Year 1 |
Independents: Prior college;
|
0.23 |
0.21 |
No |
-- | |
|
Filed FAFSA during first year following experiment |
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance vs. Another intervention |
Year 1 |
Dependents;
|
0.37 |
0.40 |
No |
-- | |
|
Filed FAFSA during first year following experiment |
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Assistance vs. Another intervention |
Posttest |
Independents: No prior college;
|
0.14 |
0.16 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 60%
Male: 40% -
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North Carolina, Ohio
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Race Black 16% White 67% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 2% Not Hispanic or Latino 98%
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
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The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
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Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
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Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).