Success is what counts. A Better Way to Measure Community College Performance Presentation about the ATD Cross-State Data Workgroup NC Community College Planning & Research Organization March 19, 2010

Success is what counts. Presentation Summary: Overview of Achieving the Dream & the Cross-State Data Workgroup Recommendations for an Alternative Set of Outcome Measures for Community Colleges Development of Intermediate Milestones Overview of the Developmental Education Initiative Implications for Policy and Practice

Success is what counts. Achieving the Dream Overview  National initiative to help more community college students succeed (earn degrees, earn certificates, or transfer)  Particularly focused on student groups that have faced the most significant barriers to success, including low-income students and students of color

Success is what counts. Over 100 Institutions in 22 States

Success is what counts. Achieving the Dream Values  Student-centered  Equity and excellence  Culture of evidence, inquiry, accountability, and shared responsibility

Success is what counts. Components of Achieving the Dream  Institutional Change  Policy Development  Knowledge Development  Engagement

Success is what counts. State Policy Priorities  Clear public policy commitment to student success  Strong data-driven accountability systems  Aligned expectations, standards, and assessments across education sectors  Incentives for improving success for underprepared students  Financial aid policies that promote persistence  Public support

Success is what counts. Cross-State Data Workgroup Initial States Connecticut Florida North Carolina Ohio Texas Virginia States Joining Arkansas Massachusetts New Mexico Oklahoma South Carolina Washington

Success is what counts. Test Drive: Six States Pilot Better Ways to Measure and Compare Community College Performance

Success is what counts. Some of the Needed Changes to IPEDS:  Expand success outcomes to include: Earned degree or certificate Transferred without an award Enrolled in with at least 30 hrs  Included full- AND part-time students  Change the timeframe to measuring success from three years to six years  Disaggregate results by age, enrollment status

Success is what counts. Results of Cross-State Comparison from Test Drive

Success is what counts. Results of Cross-State Comparison from Test Drive

Success is what counts. Results of Cross-State Comparison from Test Drive

Success is what counts. Results of Cross-State Comparison from Test Drive

Success is what counts. A Better Set of Community College Measures Fourth- and Sixth-Year Measures Award of less than associate’s degree w/o transfer Award of associate’s degree or higher w/o transfer Award of less than associate’s degree and transferred Award of associate’s degree or higher and transferred Transferred w/o an award Still enrolled with 30 or more college hours Total success rate

Success is what counts and 2004 Fourth-Year Final Success Measures Younger (18-22), Full-time Students DRAFT DATA: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Success is what counts and 2004 Fourth-Year Final Success Measures Younger (18-22), Part-time Students DRAFT DATA: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Success is what counts. Next Step: Developing Intermediate Benchmarks to Track Student Progress First-Year Milestones Persisted fall to spring Passed 80% or more of attempted hours Earned 24 or more hours Second-Year Milestones Persisted fall to fall Completed developmental math by year 2 Earned 48 or more hours Third-Year Milestones Passed gatekeeper English or higher by year 3 Passed gatekeeper math or higher by year 3

Success is what counts. Predicting Student Success First Year Age 22 or Younger Full-time Part-time DRAFT DATA: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Success is what counts. Predicting Student Success First Year Age 23 or Older Full-time Part-time DRAFT DATA: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Success is what counts. Predicting Student Success Second Year Age 22 or Younger Full-time Part-time DRAFT DATA: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Success is what counts. Predicting Student Success Second Year Age 23 or Older Full-time Part-time DRAFT DATA: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Success is what counts. Predicting Student Success Third Year Age 22 or Younger Full-time Part-time DRAFT DATA: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Success is what counts. Predicting Student Success Third Year Age 23 or Older Full-time Part-time DRAFT DATA: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Success is what counts. Tracking toward outcomes…final success is key Fourth- and Sixth-Year Measures Award of less than associate’s degree w/o transfer Award of associate’s degree or higher w/o transfer Award of less than associate’s degree and transferred Award of associate’s degree or higher and transferred Transferred w/o an award Still enrolled with 30 or more college hours Total success rate

Success is what counts. Next Steps…The Developmental Education Initiative Three year initiative to improve the outcomes of students that place into developmental education: 6 states & 15 institutions  Run benchmarks at state and institutional levels  Disaggregate and analyze performance by: academic readiness income ethnicity gender  Identify and document promising interventions

Success is what counts. Demographics – Comparing the Subgroups Younger (18-22), Full-time Students (Florida Sample) College Ready Students Upper-Level Dev Ed Math Students Lower-Level Dev Ed Math Students

Success is what counts. Looking Across Institutions NC Sample: Passing gatekeeper math by year 3 by attendance status & age

Success is what counts. What does all this mean and what are the implications?

Success is what counts. Context of the Data  Reflects the mission of colleges/state systems  Examples: age distribution, award distribution  Reflects differences in state priorities/policies  Example: college transfer policy  Not all measures pertain to all students  Example: gatekeeper math course

Success is what counts. Implications of the Data: College Perspective  Identification of at-risk students  Student advising  Review of policies/practices  Examples: Course taking sequence/timing Drop/add policies

Success is what counts. Implications of the Data: State/System Perspective  Policy development to improve student success  Review of regulations  Performance indicators  Development/refinement of student database  Benchmarking college performance

Success is what counts. Implications of the Data: National Perspective  More appropriate measure of student success: accountability  Financial aid policy  Expand the body of knowledge on successful community colleges/practices

Success is what counts. Questions?

Success is what counts. Achieving the Dream Success is what counts. Chris Baldwin – Program Director Jobs for the Future Boston, MA