Asap Program

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hope to increase the access to these programs. This has worked to reduce the cost, but not the effectiveness of the programs in low-income schools.
The problem with AP programs is the curriculum is not standardized and left up to the high schools that teach the class. This allows AP programs that are taught in low-income schools to provide an inferior education to their students compared to the same programs at elite, wealthy high schools. A study conducted by Carolyn McBride Davis, John Slate, George Moore and Wally Barnes, four professors at Sam Houston State University, analyzed the cost effectiveness of AP programs on black students in Texas, Florida and New York. These three states were chosen as they represent three of the states with …show more content…

The ASAP program is not cheap, costing about $19,000 per student per year. Despite this cost, the benefits to New York were significant according to Henry Levin. An economist at the Teachers College of Columbia University, Levin conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the ASAP program that had taken CUNY by storm. Using data from 2007-2017, the first ten years of the ASAP program, Levin found that “ASAP students graduate at more than double the rates of non-ASAP students. To date, across seven cohorts, ASAP has an average graduation rate of 53.2% vs 24.1% of comparison group students” (Levin). Levin’s study also found that although the costs are higher upfront for this program, ASAP students show an average savings of $6,500 per graduate when analyzed against the comparison group. (Levin) From the results of the analysis conducted by Levin, the ASAP program has had an immensely positive effect on the student enrolled, allowing them to realize their potential of graduating with at least an associate degree. When looking at the price aspect of the ASAP program, once the initial cost has been paid, the participants in this program repay the cost of this program in added worker productivity. Graduates from this program are able to gain better jobs than they would have achieved without a degree, and therefore are able to contribute more taxes to their state government. This is why I believe the ASAP …show more content…

Students who graduate from high school are then expected to pay large amounts of money to ensure their future success by attaining a college degree. Those from affluent backgrounds are not as affected by the rising rates of tuition, as the price of tuition has little to no effect on their rates of graduation. For students from low-income backgrounds attending public colleges, an amount of student debt of around $10,000 is the breakeven point from which any more student debt begins to have negative effects on their graduation rates. Some of the main policy proposals involve increasing the access to AP programs for low-income students, as well as increasing the amount of federal aid to help defray costs of tuition. These policies both have downfalls that make them less effective in helping increase the graduation rates of low-income students. The ASAP program initiated at CUNY is a program that increases the ability of low-income students to succeed in college and is a program that should be used everywhere in the country. In recent years, many policies have been passed or lobbied for that would not help the most disadvantaged students, but the ASAP program is a program that has low-income college students as its

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