The Economic Mobility Project authored this report on ways that students can increase their long-term earnings and the role of community colleges. Twenty-six percent of community college students come from low-income families, compared to 15 percent of four-year college students. Research shows that by receiving a community college degree, students can increase their earnings by an average of $7,900 annually, which is an earnings increase of 29 percent over those with a high school diploma.

The Brookings Institution authored this report on how postsecondary education can often be a path to economic mobility. Adults who have degrees from two-year or four-year colleges have far higher family incomes than do adults who have only a high school degree or are high school dropouts. Children from low-income families are less likely to enroll in either two- or four-year colleges, and less likely to complete a degree once they have enrolled. Researchers explain how increasing postsecondary education among this population can alleviate poverty and promote economic self-sufficiency.

This resource is from the What Works Clearinghouse, which is through the U.S. Department of Education, and provides information on the Job Corps program. The Job Corps program is a federally-funded education and job training program for economically disadvantaged youth that offers remedial education, GED preparation, vocational training, job placement assistance, and other supportive services.

Recent research shows that when work and education programs are combined, low-income families have improved outcomes. This research is from MDRC and provides evaluation information from programs that include education components to increase earnings of low-wage workers. Specifically, performance-based scholarships can have a large positive effect on academic achievement among a single-parent student population that faces multiple barriers to completing college.

This analysis was conducted by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and discusses the availability of federal tax credits for higher education for low-income students. Currently, low-income students who attend college face high costs of attendance even after taking into account governmental and institutional aid. In 2003-2004, 85 percent of undergraduates from families with incomes below $20,000 had unmet financial need.

The Government Accountability Office conducted this study on low-income and minority serving institutions- including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Alaska Native Serving Institutions, Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and other postsecondary institutions that serve low-income students. GAO examined the programs to determine how institutions used their Title III and Title V grants, what objectives and strategies the Department of Education has developed for these programs, and to what extent Education monitors the grants.

In this policy brief from the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan, authors examine the relationship between education and health. The findings include evidence that better educated people have lower morbidity rates from the most common diseases in the United States. Authors conclude that education policy has the potential to improve the overall health in our country.

From the Center for Social Development, this policy brief offers ideas on how IDAs and WIA can collaborate in increase access to education and training. Adults with a high school education earn on average $26,332, compared to $32,154 for Associate degrees and $42,116 for Bachelor degrees. Therefore, expanded IDA programs can improve access to education for the low-income population.

This report, co-authored by the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices and Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) is based largely on a roundtable meeting conducted in April 2000 by both organizations to discuss expanding postsecondary opportunities for low-income working parents and welfare recipients.

Because meaningful improvements in literacy require more hours of instruction than most adult learners receive, low student persistence is a critical issue for providers of adult education. This interim report from the Literacy in Libraries Across America persistence study describes adult students' characteristics and patterns of participation in nine library literacy programs and examines new strategies developed by the programs to raise persistence. Based on an implementation analysis and a look at participation levels before and as the strategies were put in place, the findings highlight public libraries' advantages as providers of literacy services and point to lessons for program design and implementation.