for each of the four years of high school and ranges from $125 for a high school
grade point average (GPA) of 2.50 to $500 for a GPA of 4.00. Students with
higher ACT scores receive an additional supplemental amount. Students who
score a 15 on the ACT receive $36 a year while those scoring 28 or above receive
$500 a year. Students have up to five years after completing high school to use up
to eight semesters in KEES awards. The maximum they can receive in a year is
$2,500 with a total of $10,000 over the eight semesters. Students must maintain at
least a minimum GPA to continue receiving the maximum awards. After the first
award period the minimum GPA is 2.50; after the second award period, the
minimum GPA is 3.00 for the maximum award. Following the second and third
award years, students can retain half of the scholarship amount with a GPA of
2.50 through 2.99.
The graduated structure of KEES, in both the calculation of the award
amounts and the retention criteria, has implications for which students benefit
from the program and how well KEES meets its policy goals.
Variation of KEES Awards Across Schools
To explore how KEES awards are distributed across schools, we employ four
aggregate school-level variables: the percentage of high school students who
earned KEES awards during the 2002-03 school year; the average size of base
awards earned by students; the average amount of KEES base awards per student
attending the school; and the average size of the supplemental awards earned by
students.
This study explores the effect of school variations across several demographic
characteristics. Our primary emphasis is on the relationship between economic
factors and KEES awards, but we also look at the racial and gender composition
of schools. To test these relationships we employ means tests, correlation, and
multivariate analysis.
Our analysis includes 232 public high schools that are categorized as a “regular
school” by the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of
Data. Before comparing regular public schools, however, it is instructive to look
at variations across types of schools. Figure 1 illustrates the average base and
supplemental award by type of high school including “regular” public high
schools, public schools that have been classified as “alternative” by the NCES
Common Core of Data, and private high schools. Figure 1 indicates that students
who attend private high schools receive disproportionately larger awards than
students who attend regular and alternative public schools. The average base
award earned at a private school is $351, which is $28 more than the average of
$323 earned at regular public schools. Over a four-year period, this would
translate to a difference of $112 in mean awards earned. The difference between
the average supplemental award for students attending a private high school
versus a regular public high school reveals the same pattern: the average $310
award amount for private schools is $60 larger than the average award for regular
public high schools. As would be expected, significant gaps exist between the size
of awards between regular and alternative public schools as well. It is worth
noting that the schools with the nine largest average base award means are
private.
1
1. Because the data are from the 2002-03 school year, comparisons between private and public schools, which require measures of student enrollment size, are limited.
The demographic data for public schools come from the Common Core of Data for the 2002-03 school year. Data for the Private School Universe Survey are
gathered every other year so there is not updated private school data for the 2002-03 school year.
32 Journal of Student Financial Aid Volume 39 • Number 1 • 2009
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