Pell Grants now cover under 30 percent of public college costs.

Evidence

In 2020–21, the maximum grant was $6,345, which covers less than 30 percent of the average tuition and fees at a public four-year college; when the program was first put into place, Pell Grants covered nearly 80 percent of these costs. Raising the maximum Pell Grant so that it covers more of tuition, room and board, and course materials would both increase the percentage of blacks who graduate and help more blacks to graduate debt-free. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 335