Ability to benefit (ATB) is a term used in the context of

post-secondary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

in the United States to refer to students who have sufficient competency to benefit from post-secondary education but do not have a

high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...

or the Certificate of High School Equivalency. ATB, as assessed by government-approved tests, or high school Ed plan with 504 (IEP) with at least 1 year overlapping S.E.L.P.A as long as the student has taken and passed 5 hours of college or honors credits while on higher education plans. This is required for receiving financial aid by most US public colleges that admit students without a high school diploma or the certificate of equivalency. Until July 2012, such students could also receive student loans and grants from the US government if they had passed an approved ATB examination. However, the provision was dropped as part of the cuts to the Federal budget for fiscal year 2012. In some US states such as

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, even when such students are not requesting financial aid, private post-secondary institutions are "required, prior to executing an enrollment agreement with an ATB student, to have the student take and pass an independently administered examination from the list of examinations prescribed by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

" or have passed the 5 post Ed credits listed above. According to ''

Inside Higher Ed ''Inside Higher Ed'' is a media company and online publication that provides news, opinion, resources, events and jobs focused on college and university topics. In 2022, Quad Partners, a private equity firm, sold Inside Higher Education to Time ...

'', in 2012 about 82,000 students at US public two-year colleges had been admitted under ATB (approximately 1% of the total

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

population) although not all of them were receiving financial aid. A longitudinal study from the

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

found that only 33% of students admitted under ATB in 2003 had earned a college credential by 2009.Nelson, Libby A. (20 March 2012)
"No Diploma, No GED, No Aid"
''

'' Evidence also suggested that they were more likely to default on student loans. The US Government Accountability Office expressed concern, in 2009, that some for-profit colleges were helping students to cheat on the ATB examination or were falsifying the results in order for their students to receive Federal financial aid.Lederman, Doug (22 September 2009)
"Lacking the 'Ability to Benefit'"
''

'' Students who had received a Federal direct loan or a Federal Family Education Loan via ATB prior to 2012 can apply to have the loan forgiven or discharged if they can demonstrate that their school falsely certified their ability to benefit from its training.US Department of Education, Federal Student Aid Office
"Forgiveness, Cancellation, and Discharge"
/ref>

References

{{Reflist

External links

*US

Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...

(August 2009)
"Proprietary Schools: Stronger Department of Education Oversight Needed to Help Ensure Only Eligible Students Receive Federal Student Aid"
(Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness,

Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

)
List of United States Department of Education Approved Ability to Benefit Tests
(as of 2014) on the website of the State of California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education Educational evaluation methods