Financial aid has long been used to increase access to postsecondary education, particularly for underrepresented students. Given the size of the financial aid system and the widespread use of aid, it should also be thought of as a tool to improve academic success and postsecondary completion. Evidence suggests that using additional financial aid…

Low-income students are at particular risk of not persisting to earn a certificate or degree, often because of competing priorities, financial pressures, and inadequate preparation for college. One form of financial assistance designed explicitly to reward students' academic success is a performance-based scholarship, paid contingent on attaining…

In 2002-2003, 27% (12.5 million) of public school students attended school in communities of fewer than 25,000 and 19% (8.8 million) attended school in smaller communities of fewer than 2,500. In this report, the authors focus on the schools in those smaller communities, the most rural schools in America. They frame the report around 22…

Across the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory's five-state region, state departments of education and state legislators are working to strengthen reading programs, raise student reading achievement, and help struggling readers. People now realize that reading proficiency is the key to high student achievement. This report summarizes the…

In December 2000, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) was awarded a five-year research and development (R&D) contract to develop and refine a systemic model to improve student achievement in reading or mathematics in low-performing districts and schools. At the onset of the project, 20 districts in Arkansas, Louisiana, New…

Presenting demographic information on educational achievement in the Southwest region, and, by comparison, the entire United States, the document serves as a resource instrument for those planning educational programs to alleviate adult illiteracy. Information is based upon the 1970 Census and is divided into six chapters which deal individually…

This report examines the relationship between philanthropy and public schools in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas served by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL). While begun as a project to build understanding and to support institutional planning, this report speaks also to local school leaders, the…

This policy brief presents findings from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory research on resource allocation in 1,504 independent school districts in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas. Using 5 years' data from the federal Common Core of Data and the Census Bureau along with 3 years of student performance data from each state…