Popular “free college” programs yield mixed results - Jill Barshay, Hechinger Report

“It seems clear at this point that many of the potential benefits, during and just after high school, did not emerge,” wrote the authors, led by economist Douglas Harris of Tulane University. Harris and his team recommend getting rid of performance requirements, such as maintaining a certain high school grade point average. They found no evidence that these requirements induce students to work harder and become more academically prepared for college. Instead, they have the unintended consequence of steering more funds to higher-income families, whose children are more likely to have higher grades. https://hechingerreport.org/popular-free-college-programs-yield-mixed-results/