Research
Papers, briefs, and reports on standardized testing, admissions, merit, and educational equity — co-authored and independently produced.
2023
Harry Feder & Akil Bello
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.
2021
Jennifer 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.
2020
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.
2019
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.
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.
