Cowen Institute issues reports on school performance, student aid

The Cowen Institute released two reports analyzing New Orleans high school student test scores and completion rates for federal financial aid for college, two indicators that are critical to the long-term success of city students. The reports are part of the Cowen Institute’s efforts to support college and career readiness and success for all New Orleans youth.

FAFSA for NOLA tracks Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application completion rates at high schools across the city. It also details why applying for federal aid improves college attainment for high school seniors. The report is accompanied by a website that includes weekly updates on FAFSA completion rates for each high school in New Orleans and resources for parents, students, and counselors about the financial aid process.

The second report, The Snapshot: A Brief Analysis of High School Performance Scores, offers an overview of how high schools locally and statewide fared on the state’s accountability system last year. The report finds that the number of A schools statewide more than doubled last year in large part due to increased Progress Points and improvement in all four components of the grading scale. The report also includes interviews with school leaders about high school performance.

“High school is a pivotal time in the lives of our youth and these reports highlight what we can do to better support our students,” said Amanda Kruger Hill, Executive Director of the Cowen Institute. “At the Cowen Institute, we are committed to ensuring educators, parents, and students have the resources they need to embark upon successful college and career pathways after graduating from high school.”

The reports are available online at coweninstitute.org.