Project Activities
TDP began in 2011, when half of the high schools in Milwaukee Public Schools were randomly selected to participate in this privately funded program. Since the project began, the research team has collected administrative data on students' academic progress during high school, as well as surveys of school climate from students and teachers. The team will continue to gather administrative data, and surveys, and will annually interview a group of students to record their perceptions about college preparation, financial aid, and TDP. The team will also interview all school principals and guidance counselors. Once the students enter college, the research team will track their receipt of financial aid, progress through college, and additional life outcomes including employment and childbirth.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This project takes place in Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee, WI.
Sample
At the time of random assignment in 2011, 2,587 first time ninth-grade students in 18 public high schools received the promise of a college scholarship, and 2,464 ninth-grade students attending the other 18 high schools serve as the control group. Students remain in the same treatment condition regardless of whether they switch schools subsequently. Eighty percent of students in the study are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch, approximately 60 percent are African American, and 20 percent are Hispanic.
On November 17, 2011, TDP program promised students attending half of Milwaukee's 36 public schools educating ninth-graders a total of $12,000 each to pay for college. The 18 TDP schools were randomly selected by the researchers on behalf of the program funder, the nonprofit Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation. All first time ninth-graders in each TDP treatment school were given the promise. To receive the scholarship, students must have graduated on time from a district high school with at least a 2.5 grade point average; completed the district's curriculum requirements; filled out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid during senior year of high school and each year of college; and enrolled in college within 15 months of on-time graduation from high school. Quarterly communications to students from TDP notify students of their progress in meeting the program requirements, and provide suggestions for activities that support college success. The developers of the intervention intend for TDP to positively influence students' aspirations and college-preparation activities, as well as support for college going within high schools.
Research design and methods
This project is a cluster-randomized, controlled efficacy trial with paired randomization in which schools, and all ninth-grade students within them, are assigned to either the treatment condition or the control condition. Schools were paired by college entry rate rankings, and randomly assigned within pairs to condition. The research team will first address the question of whether the intervention affects college outcomes, including applications to college, entry, and semester-to-semester persistence. In order to understand the mechanisms by which TDP influences college outcomes, the research team will evaluate mediators of the program impacts. The team will examine whether the intervention leads to more rigorous high school course taking or higher grades, thereby improving college outcomes. They will evaluate whether the intervention leads to various improvements within high schools, thereby encouraging students to perform better in high school, prepare for college, and succeed in college. The research team will also evaluate whether differences across schools in implementation of the intervention result in significantly different outcomes for students. Qualitative analysis will code trends to arrive at themes and differences across cohorts, respondents, and schools. Interview data collection will augment the administrative and survey data. From the overall consenting sample, the team selected a stratified random sample of six schools (three control, three treatment) and, within each school, selected a stratified sub-sample of four students for interviews. The team will interview the 24 students annually, including the period after they leave high school. Finally, the team will assess whether program impacts differ across economic and racial/ethnic student sub-groups, as well as groups of students who entered high school with differing college prospects.
Control condition
The control condition is the standard "business-as-usual" high school experience in which no early promise of aid is made, and students do not receive any information regarding financial aid programs or college requirements, other than what they customarily receive from guidance counselors and other school staff.
Key measures
This project includes measures from before, during, and after high school. The team will use administrative data from the Milwaukee Public Schools and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Student measures include course names, grades, test scores on state standardized tests, ACT (and SAT) scores, attendance records, and disciplinary records. Survey data about career interests and college plans are also included in the database, as well as perceptions about the school environment from annual surveys of students and teachers. District surveys of teachers and students include details of the high school environment relevant to college enrollment, including information about college; expectations from others (peers, teachers, parents); and perceived affordability of college. Postsecondary measures will include short-term and long-term outcomes and college application data will come from student surveys. Enrollment and semester-to-semester persistence data will come from the National Student Clearinghouse. Transcripts of interviews with principals, counselors, and students will form a qualitative database, which researchers will use to identify themes relevant to the intervention and college preparation.
Data analytic strategy
To account for the paired-school research design, researchers will utilize a student-level regression model with pair and treatment indicators, as well as background covariates and (where possible) lagged test scores. Using postsecondary outcome measures, regression models will assess whether TDP has an average treatment effect on enrollment and persistence. Quantitative and qualitative mediation analyses will assess how the intervention influences individual student perceptions, as well as the broader school culture and climate regarding college enrollment and affordability. The treatment fidelity analysis will employ a measure of treatment strength constructed from student survey responses regarding knowledge of the intervention.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
Products: The products of this project will be evidence of the efficacy of TDP on college enrollment among low-income students. The authors will share their results with the research community and policymakers through peer-reviewed publications.
Journal article, monograph, or newsletter
Harris, D. (2013). Is Traditional Financial Aid Too Little, Too Late to Help Youth Succeed in College? An Introduction to "The Degree Project" Promise Scholarship Experiment. New Directions for Youth Development, 140 : 99-116.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
