Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

In 2007, the Washington State legislature created a new need- and merit-based scholarship program to encourage economically disadvantaged middle school students to “choose a path that will lead to educational success after high school.” Under Washington’s College Bound Scholarship program, low-income students sign a pledge in the 7th or 8th grade to: 1) do well in middle and high school; 2) be a good citizen and not be convicted of a felony; and 3) apply for financial aid to college. If they satisfy these requirements, and their family income remains below a threshold in their senior year, they are promised a scholarship that covers tuition and fees (plus a small book allowance), which are not covered by other state financial aid awards, to attend a Washington State higher education institution.

This paper addresses the following question: What school and student factors influence whether students sign the pledge to participate in the Washington’s College Bound Scholarship program? We evaluate the influence of student level predictors (including student’s age, 6th grade test scores, gender, race/ethnicity, disability status, migrant status, homeless status, “highly capable” status, special education status, “transitional bilingual” status, language spoken at home other than English, and region (Outlying Western WA and Eastern WA) and middle school characteristics (including percent of students eligible for FRPL, mean student score on 7th grade math test, 8th grade enrollment, school has a guidance counselor, and proximity of the school to postsecondary institutions).

Our qualitative study will consist of interviews with state program administrators and middle school principals and guidance counselors at schools with typical as well as unexpectedly high and low rates of sign-up. These interviews will focus on efforts to provide information about the program to various stakeholders (schools, students, parents), practices to encourage student uptake, and factors limiting the program’s success.

Preliminary results from the quantitative study suggest that factors associated with sign-up are similar to factors associated with enrollment in college. For example, among eligible (low-income) middle school students, females are both more likely to enroll in college (both pre- and post-policy) and are more likely to sign-up for the program. Since students who do not sign-up for the program are ineligible for the college financial aid that comes from the program, this correspondence of factors affecting sign-up and college enrollment suggests that this “opt-in” program may widen existing gaps in college enrollment for the target population.

This is the first paper emerging from a study funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Subsequent papers will evaluate the impact of the program on high school outcomes (grades, course-taking, graduation, and incarceration) and college outcomes (enrollment decisions, persistence, and grades).