The postcard solution.

WHILE the debate over school vouchers continues to be intense, academics have increasingly produced a consensus in favor of another big educational reform. It is a tribute to how wide this consensus is that the best policy proposal has been put forward by scholars working under the aegis of former Clinton treasury secretary Robert Rubin's Hamilton Project. Their proposal is, indeed, one of the most laudable I have ever seen.

The federal government has spent billions and billions of dollars providing aid to students attending colleges and universities. But the evidence suggests that existing federal-aid programs are practically worthless.

Susan Dynarski and Judith Scott-Clayton of Harvard have made a decisive case that the main problem is complexity. In order to qualify for federal monies, students must fill out a federal-aid form that, with its 128 questions, is significantly more complex than a tax form. They often find out how much money they will get only after they have decided where to go. Thus the programs needlessly increase families' uncertainty and anxiety, and fail at their mission of promoting college attendance: Federal aid can't affect college-attendance decisions if it is doled out after the decisions are made.

Dynarski had earlier studied effective programs, such as one in Georgia. Drawing on that work, Dynarski and Scott-Clayton have developed a massive reform to which no rational being who supports equal opportunity can object. Echoing the cries of conservative tax reformers from bygone days, they would replace the current system with a simple postcard, which is reproduced below.

This postcard could be plastered on school bulletin boards, and would-be college students could inspect them, figure out how much federal aid they will eventually qualify for, and then adjust their college applications accordingly. The billions spent on student aid would indisputably have a bigger effect. The authors estimate that college attendance might increase as much as 7.4 percent among the grant-eligible population.

To be sure, some of that comes from increasing the level of federal aid, something that may be necessary to make such a massive reform politically viable. But that would be a small price to pay to fix the system. Congressional leaders of both parties should rush to adopt this reform before billions more dollars are wasted.

Should this replace 128 questions?

How much federal aid can I get to help pay for college?

If your parents'
adjusted gross income is ...    then your annual grant is ...

           $0-$14,999                    $4,050
      $15,000-$19,999                    $3,700
      $20,000-$24,999                    $3,300
      $25,000-$29,999                    $3,000
      $30,000-$34,999                    $2,400
      $35,000-$39,999                    $1,600
      $40,000-$44,999                      $800
      $45,000-$49,999                      $600
      $50,000-$74,999                      $450
      $75,000-$99,999                      $300

* If you are legally
independent from your
parents, your aid will be
based on your (and your
spouse's) income.

* Grants will be adjusted
for attendance status.
For example, if you
attend half-time, your
grant would be half the
amount listed.

... PLUS $250 for each dependent child other than the student, up to
an additional $1,000.

SOURCE: http://www1.hamiltonproject.org/views/papers/
200702dynarski-scott-clayton.htm