A Promise Kept? The Impact of the El Dorado Promise Scholarship on Student Achievement. (March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ash, Jennifer; Swanson, Elise; Ritter, Gary
• Is Part Of: Educational evaluation and policy analysis. Volume 43:Number 1(2021)
• Page Start: 83
• Page End: 107
• Publication Date: 2021-03
• Subjects: educational policy -- program evaluation -- achievement -- quasi-experimental analysis; Education -- Evaluation -- Research -- United States -- Periodicals; Education -- Research -- United States -- Periodicals; 370.7
• DOI: 10.3102/0162373720970512
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0162-3737

Abstract

We examine whether the El Dorado Promise, a guaranteed college scholarship program for students in the El Dorado School District (EDSD), affected elementary and middle school achievement using a quasi-experimental matching design. We first match the EDSD with similar districts to create a pool of potential comparison students then match students on prior achievement and demographics. The Promise leads to an estimated 0.11 standard deviation gain in math achievement; this effect is statistically significant and practically meaningful. Results are similar from district-level synthetic control and difference-in-differences analyses. We find larger effects on students with above-average prior achievement. We are unable to construct an appropriate comparison group to estimate the impact of the Promise on literacy achievement.