Figure 1: Average KEES Award Earned (by Type of School)
400
Alternative
350
Public
300
s 250
Regular
200
Public
Dollar 150
100
Private
50
0
Mean Base Award Mean Bonus
Award Earned
Table 1 presents descriptive statistics for the four KEES award variables as well as
three demographic variables for the 232 regular public schools. The most striking
results are the differences in standard deviation between the average base awards
and the average supplemental awards. The base average stays fairly stable with a
standard deviation of only $20, while the supplemental average exhibits a much
greater range with a standard deviation of $41. The range between minimum and
maximum awards is also a much wider for the average supplemental award
measure than for the average base award variable. Since these two awards base their
values on different criteria (GPA for base and ACT for supplemental), the results
suggest that the way merit is defined and measured has a significant impact on the
size of merit awards. Clearly, there is much less variance across schools for the
GPA-based measures than for ACT-based measures.
Table 1: Descriptive Statistics for KEES Award Measures (Regular Public Schools)
Standard
Measure Mean Deviation Minimum Maximum
Percent of students earning award 58% 9% 28% 90%
Average base award $322 $20 $246 $374
Average award per student $190 $37 $69 $318
Average bonus award $234 $41 $107 $370
Percent of female students 49% 3% 33% 65%
Percent of Caucasian students 90% 13% 16% 100%
Percent of students receiving 61% 24% 3% 99%
free or reduced-price lunches
Table 2 is a correlation matrix of the four measures of KEES awards. As might
be expected, the variables correlate with each other at a significant level.
Interestingly, there is a weaker correlation between the average supplemental
award and the three base award variables. Although the supplemental and base
awards all work on the assumption that they measure the merit of the award
recipient, these measures, which are related, appear somewhat independent of
each other. This suggests that the measure used to define merit significantly
influences the distribution of awards.
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators 33
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