Research

Academic work and policy research.

Papers, briefs, and reports on standardized testing, admissions, merit, and educational equity — co-authored and independently produced.

2023

"Merit" Awards: Myths, Realities, & Barriers to Access

Akil Bello & H. Feder

An examination of how merit-based financial aid operates in practice, who it actually reaches, and the structural barriers that limit access for underrepresented students.

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2021

Paradoxical Purposes: The Use of College Entrance Exams in Secondary and Postsecondary Institutions

J. Cox & Akil Bello

An analysis of the contradictions embedded in how standardized college entrance exams are used simultaneously as secondary school accountability tools and postsecondary admissions filters — and what that dual purpose costs students.

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2020

In a Pandemic, Test-Optional Admissions is Necessary but Insufficient

Dominique J. Baker & Akil Bello · Colorado State University Libraries

A policy brief arguing that while the pandemic-driven shift to test-optional admissions was necessary, it does not on its own address systemic inequities in college access — and what else institutions must do.

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2019

Gaming the Financial Aid Process: The Dirty Dozen

Akil Bello, Nick Ducoff & Sabrina Manville · Edmit

A research report documenting twelve ways colleges manipulate the financial aid process to serve institutional interests over student interests — and what families can do about it.

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2019

Written Testimony: SHSAT and New York City High School Admissions

Akil Bello · Submitted to the New York City Council

Testimony submitted to the NYC Council on the use of the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) as a single criterion for admissions to New York City's elite specialized high schools, and its disparate impact on Black and Latino students.