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- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
USDA 1890 National Scholars Program
The USDA 1890 National Scholars Program is aimed at bolstering educational and career opportunities for students from rural or underserved communities around the country. The scholarship provides recipients with full tuition, fees, books, and room and board to attend one of the 1890 land-grant universities and pursue degrees in agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, or related academic disciplines. The scholarship may also include work experience at USDA.
The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance
The report indicates that school-based physical activity may help improve students' grades and test scores and positively affect other factors that influence academic achievement. The report also concludes that adding time during the school day for physical activity does not appear to take away from academic performance.
Resource: Parent Engagement
This webpage provides an overview of parent engagement in schools, a promising protective factor that has been linked to better student behavior, higher academic achievement, and enhanced social skills. It also features fact sheets and other resources on parent engagement for school districts, school administrators, teachers, other school staff, parents, and families.
Youth Advisory Councils
Youth Advisory Councils (YACs) provide ongoing advice and support to school districts on policies and practices that affect students. This webpage provides a detailed overview of Youth Advisory Councils (YACs). It describes the role YACs play in improving the schools and communities they serve, discusses how they can use data to make decisions and create action plans, and outlines the structure of a YAC.
College Preparation Checklist
This resource can help students of all ages to prepare academically and financially for education beyond high school (PDF, 28 pages). It provides an overview of options for financial aid for college, and checklists for students and parents to reference at each stage of a student’s education.
Share With Youth: Budgeting for College
ED’s Office of Federal Student Aid reminds students about the importance of budgeting to achieve future financial goals and prepare for unexpected bumps in the road.
Share with Youth: FAFSA Overview
The Office of Federal Student Aid at the Department of Education provides an overview of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA takes about 30 minutes to complete, is free, and provides students access to grants, loans, and work-study funds from the federal government.
Share with Youth: Types of Federal Student Aid
The Office of Federal Student Aid offers more than $150 billion to students each year in the form of grants, loans, and work-study funds. While some colleges can also offer private student loans, federal loans often have lower fixed interest rates and other benefits.
Share with Youth: After the FAFSA — What Happens Next
This Office of Federal Student Aid video explains what happens after students complete and submit their FAFSA. The U.S. Department of Education will process the application and indicated colleges will be notified. Students will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) and can check their student aid status online.
Report: National Student Loan FY 2014 Cohort Default Rate
These data describe the FY 2014 cohort student loan default rate, which increased slightly from 11.3% to 11.5% for students who entered repayment between fiscal years 2013 and 2014. During the tracking period, more than five million borrowers entered repayment and 580,671 of them defaulted on their loans.
Resource: Digital and Social Media Financial Aid Collateral
This website provides digital and social media resources to help teachers and counselors share important federal student aid information with students and parents. It features sample social media posts, messaging guidelines, blog posts, infographics, presentations, videos, and fact sheets on a variety of financial aid topics.
Achievement Gap Narrows as High School Graduation Rates for Minority Students Improve Faster than Rest of Nation
According to new data from NCES, graduation rates for black and Hispanic students increased by nearly four percentage points from 2011 to 2013, outpacing the growth for all students in the nation. The data also show that the gap between white students and black and Hispanic students receiving high school diplomas narrowed over that time.
America's Youth: Transitions to Adulthood
“America’s Youth: Transitions to Adulthood,” a report from the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), compares the current generation of youth in the United States to youth in 2000, 1990, and 1980.
Baccalaureate and Beyond: A First Look at the Employment Experiences and Lives of College Graduates, 4 Years On
This report presents initial findings about the labor market experiences and enrollment in additional postsecondary degree programs of bachelor's degree recipients approximately four years after they completed their 2007-08 degrees. These findings are based on data from the second follow-up of the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study
Condition of America’s Public School Facilities: 2012–13
This report from the Department of Education provides national data on the condition of the nation’s public school facilities, information on building construction and renovation history, and the estimated cost of the repairs needed to put buildings in good condition.
Digest of Education Statistics, 2012
The 48th in a series, the Digest provides statistical information related to the field of education. Covering prekindergarten through graduate school, this report provides information on a variety of topics including numbers of schools, teachers, and students, federal funds for education, and international comparisons.
Degrees of Debt
This report from the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics examines three cohorts of recent graduates one year after they earned their bachelor’s degree, comparing their student loan debt and ability to pay back their loans one year after graduation and how debt affected their graduate school enrollment and living arrangements.
Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002): A First Look at 2002 High School Sophomores 10 Years Later
This report presents the findings from the third and final follow-up survey of the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, developed by the The Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. The report uses data collected in 2012 to describe educational, career, family, and financial outcomes of a cohort of young people, approximately 10 years after their sophomore year in high school.
Federal Education Tax Benefits: Who Receives Them and to What Extent Do They Shape the Price of College Attendance?
The Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released the report, "Federal Education Tax Benefits: Who Receives Them and to What Extent Do They Shape the Price of College Attendance?” that details how many undergraduate students receive tax benefits, how these benefits affect the cost of college, and how family income plays a role.
Financial Literacy of 15-Year-Olds: Results From PISA 2012
This report illustrates the findings from the 2012 administration of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) financial literacy assessment (PDF, 3 pages), which assessed students’ knowledge and understanding of fundamental elements of the financial world. The average score for the United States was 492, which was not measurably different from the overall average of 500, but the United States performed lower than the average in seven education systems.
High School Longitudinal Study of 2009: First Follow-Up
This report from the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics presents the findings of the first follow up with grade 11 students to monitor their progress since the original study in 2009 when the students were in grade 9. Results include findings on student drop out, progress by socioeconomic background, mathematics scores, and preparation and expectations for college and work.
High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) First Follow-up
Published by the Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, HSLS:09 is a longitudinal study that follows students who were in the ninth grade in 2009. Information is now available from the first follow up, conducted in 2012, which includes data from students, parents, teachers, administrators, and counselors.
Out-of-Pocket Net Price for College
This brief report from the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics uses data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study to illustrate trends in out-of-pocket net price for college, which is the price that students and their families pay after grants, loans, work-study, and other aid.
Public School Graduates and Dropouts from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2009–10
This report reveals that high school graduation rates are at their highest level since 1974. The report states that during the 2009-10 school year, 78.2 percent of high school students nationwide graduated on time, an increase from the 73.4 percent recorded in 2005-6.
Public High School Graduates and Dropouts From School Years 2010-2011 and 2011-2012
This report from the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics provides information about four-year, on-time graduation rates and dropout rates for school years 2010-2011 and 2011-2012.The data reflect a national four-year cohort graduation rate of 79 percent for school year 2010-2011 and 80 percent for school year 2011-2012, representing the first time that nearly four out of five students receive a regular high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.