Need-based grant aid improves persistence and completion while merit-only aid shows no detectable effect on these outcomes¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · quant-synthesis r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Need-based grant aid programs raise year-to-year persistence by 2.5 percentage points with a precise standard error of .005. → Nguyen 2018 q3 i? Merit-only financial aid programs do not appear to affect persistence, though the standard error is sizable. → Nguyen 2018 (2)

Evidence¶

Nguyen 2018¶

Nguyen, T.D., Kramer, J.W., & Evans, B.J. (2018). The Effects of Grant Aid on Student Persistence and Degree Attainment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Causal Evidence (CEPA Working Paper No. 18-04). Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis. http://cepa.stanford.edu/wp18-04

q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r3

Subgroup analysis by eligibility type in the year-to-year persistence moderator results (Table 3); programs with a need-based component showed a 2.5 percentage-point effect with standard error .005, 95% CI 1.4 to 3.5 percentage points as printed.

"In contrast, grant aid programs that include a need-based component seem to have a substantial impact on persistence at 2.5 percentage points with a precise standard error of .005."

Nguyen 2018 (2)¶

Nguyen, T.D., Kramer, J.W., & Evans, B.J. (2018). The Effects of Grant Aid on Student Persistence and Degree Attainment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Causal Evidence (CEPA Working Paper No. 18-04). Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis. http://cepa.stanford.edu/wp18-04

q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r3

Subgroup analysis of merit-only programs in the same moderator table; the authors report merit-only aid "do not appear to affect persistence," with a fairly sizable standard error. This is a non-detected effect, not a tested equivalence.

"Lastly, we find that merit-only financial aid programs do not appear to affect persistence although the standard error is fairly sizable."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Grant aid programs bundling additional academic or social supports show larger persistence and completion effects than aid alone — related
• Effects of grant aid on persistence and completion are heterogeneous across studies, justifying random-effects meta-analysis — related
• Grant aid increases degree completion, raising on-time completion by 2.4 and delayed completion by 2.5 percentage points in U.S. causal studies — related
• Grant aid increases postsecondary persistence, raising within-year persistence by 3.2 and year-to-year persistence by 1.8 percentage points in U.S. causal studies — a broader claim this one bears on
• An additional $1,000 of grant aid improves year-to-year persistence by a statistically significant 1.2 percentage points, with smaller statistically insignificant effects on degree completion — related