Research
Realizing the College Dream
Research shows that Kindergarten to College (K2C), a universal, automatic children’s savings account program, boosts college access, especially for underrepresented students. These are preliminary findings of an in-depth, three-year study conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan and Summitlab, funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The full research brief is available here. Research shows:
College Enrollment
- Overall, K2C participants were 6% more likely to enroll in college than the comparison group.
- This effect was largely driven by gains among students from underrepresented groups—Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Filipino, Pacific Islander or American Indian/Alaskan Native— who were 12% more likely to enroll in college than similar students in the comparison group.
- K2C closed 30% of the college enrollment gap between underrepresented students and those from represented groups.
These findings only capture enrollment by the September immediately after students graduated from high school. Thus, K2C’s effect on enrollment may grow over time as more students head to college.
On-Time High School Graduation
- K2C participants from underrepresented groups had a 7% higher on-time high school graduation rate than the comparison group.
- K2C closed 29% of the gap in on-time graduation for underrepresented students.
These findings on college enrollment and on-time graduation are statistically significant and control for key factors such as gender, race, and language status, as well as median income by zip code. the original conference paper.
Looking to the Future
We are evaluating K2C to learn about its effects on college enrollment, performance in high school, on-time high school graduation, and more. The evaluation will examine outcomes for the classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025, compared to a similar group of students who did not have K2C accounts. Evaluators are also interviewing students and parents to learn about their experiences with K2C.
To Be Released Over the Next Two Years:
- Detailed analyses of how students from different demographic groups experience the program
- Understanding how families’ savings and engagement with the program affects students’ outcomes
- Seeing effects over time, as many high school graduates enroll a year or more after graduating
- Hearing what K2C means to participants in their own words.
San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros
"We started K2C so that every student in our public schools would know that they have a future worth saving for.
More important than the money itself, millions in savings represents millions of conversations
our families are having with their children about going to college.”
Previous Research on K2C
Focus on the Future: Outcomes and Lessons Learned From K2C's "I am the Future" Campaign (2022)