Skip to main content
 
  • Click to open or close the program search boxShow Me Programs
    • Show me the programs that are
      performing Go
    • Show me the programs that are
      not performing Go
ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

View Assessment Details

Byrd Honors Scholarships

The purpose of this program is to create incentives for secondary school students to excel in their studies and continue their education at a postsecondary institution. The program provides grants to States to award scholarships to high-performing high school students.

Rating

What This Rating Means

NOT PERFORMING
Results Not Demonstrated

A rating of Results Not Demonstrated (RND) indicates that a program has not been able to develop acceptable performance goals or collect data to determine whether it is performing.
  • The Byrd Honors Scholarships program is duplicative of State, local, and private efforts that provide merit-based resources for postsecondary education. All other Department of Education (ED) scholarship programs have a needs-based eligibility component. There is no evidence that scholarship recipients would otherwise be unable to attend college.
  • The program's authorizing law does not establish any specific eligibility standard for scholarship recipients, such as a minimum grade point average or standardized test score. As a result, state criteria are extremely variable, which makes it difficult to assess the quality of students supported by this program.
  • The program's authorizing law also prohibits States from using program funding for collecting program performance data. This weakens the quality of State data provided to ED and limits ED's ability to oversee and manage the program.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Exploring strategies to address those legal barriers that hinder efforts to examine program performance.
  • Implementing a strategy for making program performance data accessible to the public in a transparant way.
  • Reviewing and revising program managers' performance agreements to ensure that managers are held accountable for achieving key program results.

Learn More
The content on ExpectMore.gov is developed by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and Federal agencies.