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This First Look report presents selected findings about student financial aid during the 2019-20 academic year. This document contains supplemental tables which feature state-level percentages of students receiving aid and average amounts received by undergraduate students. These findings are based on data from the 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20). NPSAS:20 is a national study of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled any time between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, in institutions that can participate in federal financial aid programs. The main purpose of NPSAS:20 is to measure how students and their families pay for postsecondary education and, particularly, their receipt of federal student aid given through Title IV of the Higher Education Act. [For the full report, see ED629547. For the summary, see ED629548.]

This annual publication of "The ABCs of School Choice" is a comprehensive, data-rich guide to every private school choice program in America. This edition of "The ABCs of School Choice" defines each of the four types of school choice: education savings accounts, vouchers, tax-credit scholarships and individual tax credits and deductions. The guidebook includes an entire spread of charts showing the growth over time of private school choice programs, spending on those programs and student participation in those programs. "The ABCs of School Choice" features a spread for each school choice program that includes the most recent participation, funding and eligibility data as well as information on the program's rules, regulations and legal history. Following a preface by Robert C. Enlow, the President and CEO of EdChoice, contents of this report include: (1) Types of Private School Choice; (2) Other Types of School Choice; (3) School Choice Illustrated; (4) State Index; (5) Education Savings Account Programs; (6) School Voucher Programs; (7) Tax-Credit Education Savings Account Programs; (8) Tax-Credit Scholarship Programs; (9) Individual Tax Credit and Deduction Programs; (10) 529 Savings Accounts; (11) Rules and Regulations; (12) Legal History; (13) Data Sources for Program Profiles; and (14) Methodology and Data Sources for Eligibility. [For the 2022 edition, see ED620288.]

This resource is designed to be a one-stop shop for all the existing research on private school choice in the United States. This year's edition is updated with the research published since the last edition. Since the first modern-day voucher program launched in Milwaukee in 1990, researchers have studied private school choice programs. Few American education reforms have been studied as much as choice. Even fewer, if any, have such a broad array of possible outcomes for students, schools, taxpayers and families. Researchers from across the country have published almost 175 empirical studies on the effectiveness of these programs. In this resource, the findings of the empirical studies are broken down by U.S. voucher, tax-credit scholarship and education savings account programs to date. The outcomes include: (1) Program Participant Test Scores; (2) Program Participant Attainment; (3) Parent Satisfaction; (4) Public School Students' Test Scores; (5) Civic Values and Practices; (6) Racial/Ethnic Integration; and (7) Fiscal Effects. [For the 2021 edition, see ED613035.]

This annual publication of "The ABCs of School Choice" is a comprehensive, data-rich guide to every private school choice program in America. This publication outlines how each program works, whom it serves, and offers feedback on how it could be changed to help even more families in a particular state. Programs are grouped alphabetically by state and by program type: education savings accounts (ESAs), school vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, and individual tax credits and deductions. New to this year's edition is information about state-based 529 savings accounts, which are privately funded by families for future educational expenses. Following a preface by Robert C. Enlow, the President and CEO of EdChoice, contents of this report include: (1) Types of Private School Choice; (2) Other Types of School Choice; (3) School Choice Illustrated; (4) State Index; (5) Education Savings Account Programs; (6) School Voucher Programs; (7) Tax-Credit Scholarship Programs; (8) Individual Tax Credit and Deduction Programs; (9) 529 Savings Accounts; (10) Rules and Regulations; (11) Legal History; (12) Data Sources for Program Profiles; and (13) Methodology and Data Sources for Eligibility. [For the 2019 edition, see ED595050.]

This annual publication of "The ABCs of School Choice" is a comprehensive, data-rich guide to every private school choice program in America. This publication outlines how each program works, whom it serves, and offers feedback on how it could be changed to help even more families in a particular state. Programs are grouped alphabetically by state and by program type: education savings accounts (ESAs), vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, and individual tax credits and deductions. New to this year's edition is information about state-based 529 savings accounts, which are privately funded by families for future educational expenses. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in 2017 by the U.S. Congress, expanded the allowable uses of these accounts to include up to $10,000 in annual private K-12 tuition expenses. Following a preface by Robert C. Enlow, the President and CEO of EdChoice, contents of this report include: (1) Types of Private School Choice; (2) Other Types of School Choice; (3) School Choice Illustrated; (4) State Index; (5) Education Savings Account Programs; (6) School Voucher Programs; (7) Tax-Credit Scholarship Programs; (8) Individual Tax Credit and Deduction Programs; (9) 529 Savings Accounts; (10) Rules and Regulations; (11) Legal History; (12) Data Sources for Program Profiles; and (13) Methodology and Data Sources for Eligibility. [For the 2018 edition, see ED581413.]

This annual publication of "The ABCs of School Choice" is a comprehensive, data-rich guide to every private school choice program in America. This publication outlines how each program works, whom it serves, and offers feedback on how it could be changed to help even more families in a particular state. Programs are grouped alphabetically by state and by program type: education savings accounts (ESAs), vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, and individual tax credits and deductions. Following a preface by Robert C. Enlow, the President and CEO of EdChoice, contents of this report include: (1) Types of Private School Choice; (2) Other Types of School Choice; (3) School Choice Illustrated; (4) State Index; (5) Education Savings Account Programs; (6) School Voucher Programs; (7) Tax-Credit Scholarship Programs; (8) Individual Tax Credit and Deduction Programs; (9) Rules and Regulations; (10) Legal History; (11) Data Sources for Program Profiles; and (12) Methodology and Data Sources for Eligibility.

This Policy Snapshot explores need-based financial aid programs across the country and highlights state program examples, grant and scholarship expenditure amounts, and recent legislative activity.

This report provides data regarding state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and illustrates the extent of efforts made by the states to assist postsecondary students. Information in this report is based on academic year 2014-15 data from the 46th Annual National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP) survey. Data highlights include: (1) In the 2014-15 academic year, the states awarded about $12.4 billion in total state funded student financial aid, an increase of about 6.0 percent in nominal terms and 5.8 percent in constant dollar terms from the $11.7 billion in aid awarded in 2013-14; (2) The majority of state aid (85 percent) remains in the form of grants. In 2014-15, almost 4.5 million grant awards were made representing about $10.5 billion in need and nonneed-based grant aid. This represents an increase of about 5.7 percent from the $9.9 billion in grants awarded in 2013-14. Of the grant money awarded in 2014-15, 76 percent was need-based and 24 percent was nonneed-based, about the same as last year; (3) Funding for undergraduate need-based grant aid increased nationwide from about $7.4 billion in 2013-14 to about $7.8 billion in 2014-15, an increase of about 6.2 percent in nominal terms; (4) Eight states (California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington, Illinois, and North Carolina) collectively awarded about $5.5 billion in undergraduate need-based grant aid, accounting for about 70 percent of all aid of this type; and (5) States provided about $1.9 billion in nongrant student aid, including loans, loan assumptions, conditional grants, work -study, and tuition waivers, up over 7 percent from last year. Loans and tuition waivers accounted for 74 percent of nongrant funds awarded. Most states reported state-funded undergraduate programs with a need component, however, two states (Georgia and New Hampshire) reported no need based aid programs. Twenty-five states identified undergraduate programs which made awards based only on merit. Exclusively need-based aid constituted 47.5 percent of all aid to undergraduates, exclusively merit-based aid accounted for 18.0 percent, with the rest, 34.5 percent, accounted for by other programs and by programs with both need and merit components. The amount of undergraduate aid awarded in 2014-15 through programs with a merit component increased to about $4.4 billion. This compares to $5.3 billion awarded to undergraduates through programs based only on need. South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and West Virginia provided the greatest amount of grant aid on a per capita basis. South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee provided the most undergraduate grant dollars compared to undergraduate full time equivalent enrollment. South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, and Louisiana had the highest proportion of total expenditures for state-funded grants compared to State fiscal support for higher education. [For the "45th Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student Financial Aid: 2013-2014 Academic Year," see ED570625.]

This report provides data regarding state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and illustrates the extent of efforts made by the states to assist postsecondary students. Information in this report is based on academic year 2013-14 data from the 45th Annual NASSGAP survey. Data highlights include: (1) In the 2013-14 academic year, the states awarded about $11.7 billion in total state funded student financial aid, an increase of about 3.6 percent in nominal terms, and an increase of 1.6 percent in constant dollar terms from the $11.3 billion in aid awarded in 2012-13; (2) The majority of state aid (85 percent) remains in the form of grants. In 2013-14, almost 4.1 million grant awards were made representing about $9.9 billion in need and nonneed-based grant aid. This represents an increase of about 3.6 percent from the $9.6 billion in grants awarded in 2012-13. Of the grant money awarded in 2013-14, 75 percent was need-based and 25 percent was nonneed-based, about the same as last year; (3) Funding for undergraduate need-based grant aid increased nationwide from about $7.0 billion in 2012-13 to about $7.4 billion in 2013-14, an increase of about 5.8 percent in nominal terms; (4) Eight states (California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, and North Carolina) collectively awarded about $5.2 billion in undergraduate need-based grant aid, accounting for about 70 percent of all aid of this type; and (5) States provided about $1.7 billion in nongrant student aid, including loans, loan assumptions, conditional grants, work-study, and tuition waivers, up about 3.7 percent from last year. Loans and tuition waivers accounted for 76 percent of nongrant funds awarded. Most states reported state-funded undergraduate programs with a need component, however, two states (Georgia and New Hampshire) reported no need based aid programs. Twenty-six states identified undergraduate programs which made awards based only on merit. Exclusively need-based aid constituted 47.3 percent of all aid to undergraduates, exclusively merit-based aid accounted for 18.4 percent, with the rest, 34.3 percent, accounted for by other programs and by programs with both need and merit components. The amount of undergraduate aid awarded in 2013-14 through programs with a merit component increased to about $4.3 billion. This compares to $5 billion awarded to undergraduates through programs based only on need. South Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee provided the greatest amount of grant aid on a per capita basis. South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee provided the most undergraduate grant dollars compared to undergraduate full time equivalent enrollment. South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, and Louisiana had the highest proportion of total expenditures for state-funded grants compared to State fiscal support for higher education. [For the "44th Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student Financial Aid: 2012-2013 Academic Year," see ED561812.]

This report provides data regarding state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and illustrates the extent of efforts made by the states to assist postsecondary students. Information in this report is based on academic year 2011-12 data from the 43rd Annual National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP) survey. Data highlights include: (1) In the 2011-12 academic year, the states awarded about $11.1 billion in total state funded student financial aid, an increase of about 0.7 percent in nominal terms, but a decrease of 0.7 percent in constant dollar terms from the $11 billion in aid awarded in 2010-11; (2) The majority of state aid remains in the form of grants. In 2011-12, almost 4.2 million grant awards were made representing about $9.4 billion in need and nonneed-based grant aid. This represents an increase of about 1.7 percent from the $9.2 billion in grants awarded in 2010-11. Of the grant money awarded in 2011-12, 74 percent was needbased and 26 percent was nonneed-based, a notable increase in the percentage of need-based aid from previous years; (3) Funding for undergraduate need-based grant aid increased nationwide from about $6.4 billion in 2010-11 to about $6.8 billion in 2011-12, an increase of 6 percent. In nominal terms; (4) Eight states (California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington and North Carolina) collectively awarded about $4.8 billion in undergraduate need-based grant aid, accounting for about 70 percent of all aid of this type; and (5) States provided about $1.7 billion in nongrant student aid, including loans, loan assumptions, conditional grants, work -study, and tuition waivers, down almost 4 percent from last year. Loans and tuition waivers accounted for 76 percent of nongrant funds awarded. Most states reported state-funded undergraduate programs with a need component, however, four states reported no need based aid programs. Twenty six states identified undergraduate programs which made awards based only on merit. Exclusively need-based aid constituted 47 percent of all aid to undergraduates, exclusively merit-based aid accounted for 19 percent, with the rest, 34 percent, accounted for by other programs and by programs with both need and merit components. The amount of undergraduate aid awarded in 2011-12 through programs with a merit component remained level at about $3.9 billion. This compares to $4.7 billion awarded to undergraduates through programs based only on need. South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Washington DC provided the greatest amount of grant aid on a per capita basis. South Carolina. Georgia, and Tennessee provided the most undergraduate grant dollars compared to undergraduate full time equivalent enrollment. South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington had the highest proportion of total expenditures for state-funded grants compared to State fiscal support for higher education. [For the "42nd Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student Financial Aid, 2010-2011 Academic Year," see ED533145.]

School choice is a common sense idea that gives all parents the power and freedom to choose their child's education, while encouraging healthy competition among schools and other institutions to better serve students' needs and priorities. It is a public policy that allows a parent/guardian or student to choose a district, charter, or private school, regardless of residence and location. This publication is the authoritative handbook on school choice programs in the United States. It is designed to serve as both an introduction for those new to educational choice, and as an indispensable guide for those who have been working for decades to achieve universal school choice.

During their senior year students in the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools develop a postsecondary plan. This plan outlines what students intend to do after graduating from high school; whether they are planning to attend a 4-year college/university, junior/community college, or vocational/technical school; seek employment or an apprenticeship/on the job training; enlist in the military; or join Job Corps. During this time students also report the scholarships, financial aid, and grant monies they have been offered as well as which of those monies offered they have accepted or are planning to accept. This report summarizes the postsecondary intentions and scholarship monies reported by students who graduated from a DoDEA high school in the 2009-10 school year (SY). It should be noted that all analyses in this report are based on those seniors (N=3,074) who were enrolled in a DoDEA high school as of April 2010. Therefore, findings do not include seniors who may have withdrawn prior to or entered after this date. (Contains 3 tables, 9 figures and 7 footnotes.) [For the previous report, "DoDEA Seniors' Postsecondary Plans and Scholarships, 2009," see ED529464.]

This report summarizes the postsecondary intentions and scholarship monies earned by high school graduates of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) in SY08-09. As part of the process for planning for postsecondary life, seniors indicate whether they are planning to attend a 4-year college/university, junior/community college, or vocational/technical school; seek employment or an apprenticeship/on the job training; enlist in the military; join Job Corps; or have other postsecondary plans. Students also report the scholarships, financial aid, and grant monies they have been offered as well as which of those monies offered they have accepted or are planning to accept. It should be noted that data related to students' postsecondary plans and scholarship monies are self-reported by students and may not represent the absolute postsecondary status of DoDEA graduates or the totality of scholarship monies offered and accepted by students. All analyses in this report are based on those students (N=2,988) who were seniors enrolled in a DoDEA high school as of April 2009. Therefore, findings do not include seniors who may have withdrawn prior to or entered after this date. Based on interpretive guidance from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), statistical tests are used throughout this report to determine if observed differences between groups are actually different. "If the difference is statistically significant, the report describes the group averages or percentages as being different (e.g., one group was higher or lower than another group), regardless of whether the averages or percentages appear to be approximately the same. The reader is cautioned to rely on the results of the statistical tests rather than on the apparent magnitude of the difference between groups" (NCES, 2008). (Contains 5 tables, 5 figures and 2 footnotes.) [For the previous report, "DoDEA Seniors' Postsecondary Plans and Scholarships, 2008," see ED529456.]

One of the oldest and more popular forms of school choice in the United States is educational tax credits. Like many other types of school choice, educational tax credits enable parents to send their children to the K-12 school of their choice, public or private, religious or non-religious. One type of educational tax credits, tax-credit scholarships, give individuals and corporations an incentive--reduced income taxes--to donate to non-profit organizations that provide scholarships to families. These scholarships bring a wider array of educational options within the financial reach of low- and moderate-income families. In Indiana, legislation that would have created such a program, allowing for individuals and corporations to donate up to $30 million per year, died in committee in 2002. The initiative would have expanded educational options for children from low-income families by allowing them to use the funds (up to $3,300 per student) to choose between public and private schools. Three more bills that would have created similar, smaller programs failed to become law in 2003. Leaders of the public school establishment frequently charge that such scholarship tax credit programs are risky and unprecedented public policy. As this report shows, however, using tax credits to enable Indiana students--particularly low-income ones--to attend the school of their choice is neither risky nor unprecedented. Indeed, Indiana policymakers already use tax credits to help the poor enter the workforce, purchase homes, attend college and accumulate savings. And Indiana already operates a similar, successful program for college students. The Twenty-First Century Scholars Program grants scholarships to foster children and low income students that they can use at both public and private colleges and universities, including religious schools. Individuals and corporations can receive tax credits for donations to a fund supporting the program. This report concludes that a well-designed scholarship tax credit program would build on successful Indiana policy and can provide a broader range of educational options to Indiana families in K-12 education. (Contains 5 tables and 32 endnotes.)

This report summarizes the postsecondary plans and scholarship monies of graduates of Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) high school seniors in SY07-08. Postsecondary plans represent the intentions of seniors the year after graduation. Students indicate whether they plan to attend a 4-year college/university, junior/community college, or vocational/technical school; seek employment or an apprenticeship/on the job training; enlist in the military; join Job Corps; or have other postsecondary plans. Students also report the scholarship monies they have been offered as well as indicate which of those scholarships offered, they have or are planning to accept. It should be noted that both postsecondary plans and scholarship monies are self-reported by students. As such they may not represent the actual postsecondary status of DoDEA seniors or the totality of scholarship monies offered and accepted by students. In addition, all analyses in this report are based on those students (N=3,035) who were seniors enrolled in a DoDEA high school in April 2008. Therefore, the data in this report do not include seniors who may have withdrawn prior to or entered after April. Of the 3,035 seniors enrolled in April 2008, 77 students did not graduate, resulting in a graduation rate of 97.5%. This represents a decline from that reported in previous years, although it is most likely due to more accurate tracking and reporting of students as opposed to an actual decrease in the percentage of seniors graduating. (Contains 7 tables and 5 figures.) [For the previous report, "DoDEA 2007 Postsecondary Plans and Scholarships Report," see ED529454.]

This report presents a summary of postsecondary plans and scholarship monies of graduates of Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) high school seniors in SY06-07. Postsecondary plans represent the intentions of seniors the year after graduation; students indicate whether they are planning on attending a 4-year College/University, Junior/Community College, or Vocational School/Technical School; seeking Employment or an Apprenticeship/On the Job Training; enlisting in the Military; joining Job Corps; or have other postsecondary plans. Students also report the scholarship monies they have been offered as well as indicate which of those scholarships offered they have or are planning on accepting. It should be noted that both postsecondary plans and scholarship monies are self-reported by students, as such they may not represent the actual postsecondary status of DoDEA seniors or the totality of scholarship monies offered and accepted by students. In addition, all analyses in this report are based on those students (N=3,248) who were enrolled in twelfth grade in a DoDEA high school in April 2007. As such, these data do not include 12th graders who may have withdrawn prior to or entered after this date. Of the 3,248 students enrolled in twelfth grade in April 2007, nine students were reported as not graduating, resulting in a graduation rate of 99%. (Contains 6 tables, 4 figures and 1 footnote.) [For the previous report, "DoDEA 2006 Postsecondary Plans and Scholarships Report," see ED529466.]

School choice programs, which allow students to attend the public or private school of their choice using public funds, have taken root in the U.S. and are growing rapidly both in number and size. Their fiscal impact has become an important political issue. Proponents say school choice saves money because private schooling is more efficient, producing savings for both public schools and state budgets. Meanwhile, opponents say school choice drains money from public schools. This study calculates the fiscal impact of every existing voucher and tax-credit scholarship program, in order to bring empirical evidence to bear on the debate over the fiscal impact of school choice. Of the 18 voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs in the United States, twelve began operations before the current school year and their fiscal impact can thus be assessed. Key findings include: (1) School choice programs have saved a total of about $444 million from 1990 to 2006, including a total of $22 million saved in state budgets and $422 million saved in local public school districts; (2) Every existing school choice program is at least fiscally neutral, and most produce a substantial savings; (3) In nearly every school choice program, the dollar value of the voucher or scholarship is less than or equal to the state's formula spending per student; (4) When a student uses school choice, the local public school district no longer needs to pay the instructional costs associated with that student, but it does not lose all of its per-student revenue, because some revenue does not vary with enrollment levels; and (5) Programs that offer vouchers or scholarships both to public school students and to students who did not previously attend public schools are now offering large enough dollar amounts to attract at least 25 percent of their participants from public school students. (Contains 17 tables, 1 figure and 21 endnotes.)

At the end of every school year, each high school in the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is required to document the postsecondary plans and scholarships of twelfth grade students. This report provides a summary of these data, including the postsecondary plans of students and the monies offered and accepted by these students for scholarships, grants, and financial aid. Data in this report are presented for DoDEA overall, as well as disaggregated by each of the three areas: Domestic Dependents Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS), including Cuba; Europe; and the Pacific, including Guam. It should be noted that in SY05-06, changes were made to the procedures and system DoDEA uses to collect student data. These new data collection procedures resulted in missing and invalid data and non-standard data entry. Therefore, caution should be used when interpreting and comparing these results among Areas and against previous years. Of the 3,191 seniors in DoDEA schools in SY05-06, approximately 99% (N=3,156) were reported as graduated. This is approximately 4% higher than reported in SY04-05; however, this difference may be due to differences in the data collection procedures rather than true differences in the graduation rates between the two years. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.) [For the previous report, "DoDEA 2005 Graduates Post-Secondary Plans and Scholarships Report," see ED529457.]

At the end of every school year, each high school in the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) and the Domestic Dependents Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS) is asked to complete a record indicating senior students' plans after graduation. This summary report provides a look at the aggregate numbers collected from these high schools concerning Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) seniors' plans, the monies awarded to these students for scholarships, grants, and financial aid, and also the colleges and universities they plan to attend. Data are displayed in this report for DoDEA and the three areas, DDESS, DoDDS-Europe, and DoDDS-Pacific. In 2005, there were 3,395 seniors in DoDEA. Of these, 3,238 received diplomas resulting in a graduation rate of 95%. The majority (76%) of the 2005 DoDEA graduates indicated that they would continue their education after graduation at a 4-year (58%), 2-year (16%), or vocational college or university (2%) as shown in Chart 1. (Contains 5 charts and 2 tables.) [For the previous report, "DoDEA Post-Secondary Plans and Scholarships Report, 2004," see ED529459.]

The College and Career Planning Handbook provides five steps and associated activities to help guide high school choices and prepare students for college and beyond. Steps include: (1) Discover Yourself (Who are you, and what do you want?); (2) Explore Your Options (What's the best job in the world?); (3) Set Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Trial and Error = SMART); (4) Develop an Action Plan (Getting Ready for College, Getting into College, Earn College Credits in High School, Getting Job Skills in High School, Testing Your Progress, Final Planning Tips); and (5) Make It Happen (checklists for grades 8, 9 and 10). Discussion of college costs, determining financial need and some financial aid tools are followed by a 4-year high school course planner template. A vocabulary list is included. [This publication is part of the GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) national effort to encourage more young people to have high expectations, study hard, and go to college. Washington State GEAR UP is a partnership of the Office of the Governor, the Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the University of Washington. For "How to Go to College. The College and Career Planning Handbook for Grades 6 and 7," see ED498224.]