Friday News Roundup: Week of May 11-15

At Ed Money Watch, we discuss and analyze major issues affecting education funding. In our Friday News Roundup, we try to highlight interesting stories that might otherwise get overlooked. These stories emphasize how federal and state policy changes can affect local schools and districts.

Limited Loan Access Makes Community Colleges Hard to Afford

Texas Schools Use College Prep Money for Various Needs

Report Highlights Risks of Merit Pay

Limited Loan Access Makes Community Colleges Hard to Afford
The Institute for College Access & Success this week released new analysis of federal data revealing surprising findings about the affordability of community college. According to the study, limited access to aid programs-including federal loans, state or college grants, and subsidized work-study jobs-can actually make community college nearly as expensive for students as four-year universities. In 2007-08, 80 percent of full-time community college students who applied for financial aid were not awarded all of the assistance they needed. These students are much less likely to receive federal aid than their counterparts at four-year institutions. Because of their limited access to federal loans, community college students sometimes turn to riskier private loans. More here. View the full analysis here.

Texas Schools Use College Prep Money for Various Needs
A recent study suggests that Texas state funds targeted at preparing students for college have been used for other purposes. Since 2006, Texas schools have received $275 a year per pupil to help prepare students for college. In some school districts, the money has been used to offer college prep courses, purchase graphing calculators for math students, and help with fees for SAT, ACT, and AP exams. However, the funds have also been used for copier and printer supplies, teacher salaries and stipends, technology, and textbooks. The only forbidden uses for the funds are administrative costs and athletics. The Texas Legislature gave school districts this flexibility in the hope that they would use the funds in innovative ways. While this has happened in some school districts, others have maintained the status quo and used the money to fill in gaps in their budgets. More here.

Report Highlights Risks of Merit Pay
In a report released by the Economic Policy Institute this week, researchers argue that merit pay for teachers could have unintended negative consequences for schools and students, citing problems experienced by organizations using similar programs in the private sector. The authors of the report find that programs rewarding private sector employees for productivity are declining in number because they often incent employees to game the system or produce other negative consequences. Because it is difficult to identify and measure all the dimensions of productivity and success, the researchers claim that these types of compensation plans could do more harm than good. They warn that using similar systems to compensate teachers could lead to similar consequences and do little to help improve student success. More here. View the report here.

Briefly Noted

• Low income students are often unaware of aid options for higher education.
• Some Washington, DC teachers and administrators must reapply for their jobs under an NCLB mandate.
• Detroit Public Schools requests federal disaster funding.