In a development that can only lead to more financial difficulty for low-income students, the College Board announced last week that total funding for Pell Grants, as well as average benefits per recipient, fell in 2005-6 for the first time in six years. During the same period, average tuition rose by 35 percent, a rate that outpaced inflation by a considerable margin. In their annual review of college costs and financial aid, the Board stated that, though general federal aid increased by 3.7 percent last year, this number failed to meet current levels of inflation, meaning that, once again, small increases in college aid were insufficient to counter steadily rising prices.