Basic Skills in the Big Picture Rethinking developmental education Matthew Rosin Senior Research Associate, EdSource Rethinking developmental education in California and beyond Student Success Institute Basic Skills Across the Curriculum February 26, 2011

Rethinking developmental education Developmental education is key to meeting completion goals, to ensuring students meet AA/AS standards, and for meeting course prerequisites. That developmental education must be revamped is taken as a given in the national conversation. The conversation is not about whether, but how. No silver bullets. Every promising program is a structured response to a recognized problem. These responses—and their evaluations—can be documented and shared. This segment is about promising practices. But it is not about “solutions.” 2

What follows Examples focused on three big ideas: Contextualization. Alternative approaches to the developmental sequence. Explicit and pervasive student support. The individual programs I reference may draw from one or more of these ideas. Moreover, they often share some common premises. What I want to suggest here is that promising programs that go by these various names--READ THEM--in fact, share similar premises. But these premises play out differently depending on the problem a program is trying to address. These premises are worth thinking about seriously and discussing vigorously--regardless of your discipline--in light of the particular challenges your college hopes to address and the students you hope to reach. 3

Contextualization Key premise: Developmental learning should be connected with its application and relevance in meaningful academic or occupational contexts. Developmental learning need not necessarily be thought of as discrete skills to be remediated “before” accessing the practices of a field. Room for growth on the occupational side: Wiseley found that credit courses that integrate developmental instruction into an occupational context are scarce in California—especially in writing/reading—but show promise. In addition, the Center for Student Success’ recent review of contextualized programs cites only a small number of California programs with an occupational focus. 4

Contextualization Examples: Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST), Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges Integrates adult literacy and college-level career-technical learning. Intended to get more Adult Basic Education/ESL students past a “tipping point” associated with higher earnings—i.e., taking 1 year’s worth of college-credit courses and completing a credential. CCRC evaluation finds I-BEST students more likely to pursue credit-bearing coursework and earn awards. Program may be less suited to ESL students with the least English proficiency. 5

Contextualization Examples: Career Advancement Academies, Career Ladders Project Focused on undereducated/underemployed youth and adults. Learning communities provide noncredit developmental instruction through career pathways connected to various economic sectors. Partnerships in East Bay, Central Valley, and Los Angeles between CC districts, multiple colleges, adult schools, and other agencies. Academy of College Excellence (ACE), Cabrillo College Focused on at-risk students. Within learning communities, teams conduct and present primary-research projects as they would in college-level courses, such as on social justice topics of interest to them. Research projects are contexts for literacy and mathematics instruction. CAREER ADVANCEMENT ACADEMIES: Other agencies might include a workforce investment board or chamber of commerce. 6

Rethinking the sequence Key premise: A shorter path to transfer-level courses reduces the opportunity for student attrition. How this relates to the EdSource study findings: Students’ chances of completing a degree or transfer decrease as their “starting level” moves lower. This was the case even though students who started at lower levels appear to have made efforts to get through the sequence. Every step a student must take to get through a developmental sequence is an opportunity to fall off the staircase. 7

Rethinking the sequence Acceleration The idea: Compress the number of levels required to get to transfer-level, at least for some students. Intensify the experience so that students practice, with support, the tasks expected in transfer-level courses. Acceleration was the topic of a breakout session this morning, led in part by Dianna. So I will not dwell too long on the idea here, and some of the example I cite will be familiar to some of you. My main goal is to suggest that acceleration entails two ideas that often, but do not necessarily, cohere in the same program. One idea is that developmental programs should compress the number of levels students must go through--that is, make the path shorter, at least for some students. Another idea is that the educational experience WITHIN that path should be more intense such that students actually practice what will be expected of them in college-level courses. This is similar to the idea cited earlier that developmental education need not be thought of as a bundle of basic skills to be addressed “before” students get to the real thing. 8

Rethinking the sequence Acceleration Examples: Accelerated Learning Project, Community College of Baltimore County (Maryland) Students assessing “1 level below” in English can enroll directly in College Composition with college-ready students, with an additional support section with same instructor and peers. Developmental English sequence, Chabot College 1- or 2-level sequence. Book-length works spur discussion and writing. Although both paths provide similar preparation, students on the 1-level path are twice as likely to enroll in English 1A. Note the way that these two ideas--”acceleration as a shorter path” and “acceleration as intensity”--show up in these examples. 9

Rethinking the sequence Acceleration Examples: Academy of College Excellence (ACE), Cabrillo College CCRC evaluation found that an early version of program with immediate entry into degree-applicable English (1 level below transfer) produced the best student outcomes. Students’ primary-research projects, with other supports, help students learn to see themselves as academic actors. Note the way that these two ideas--”acceleration as a shorter path” and “acceleration as intensity”--show up in these examples. NOTE: Cabrillo College continues to experiment with the length of the path for different students. In Spring 2010, some ACE learning communities began 1 level below transfer, and others began 2 levels below. 10

Rethinking the sequence Modularization The idea: Semester-length courses need not be the default unit of remediation. Students often do not arrive with academic needs that fit into pre-defined “levels.” Don’t spend time on things students already know, and let them master what they don’t know at their own pace. 11

Rethinking the sequence Modularization Example: Modular developmental math, Jackson State Community College (Tennessee Developmental Studies Redesign) Suite of 12 modules (ranging from integers to quadratics) undertaken in a lab context, rather than 3 course levels. The modules required depend on students’ preparation and the programs of study they intend to pursue. A full Intermediate Algebra course is no longer the single exit route. It’s worth noting that the Jackson State’s math lab is called the SMART Math Center, where SMART stands for “Survive, Master, Achieve, Review and Transfer.” Note the inclusion of the word “Survive”--that tells you something about the motivation for rethinking the nature of the sequence. Indeed, under the former system, only about “18% of all students enrolled in the traditional developmental math program passed Intermediate Algebra.” Note also that which modules a student takes in based not just on the particular areas where he or she needs additional work. It also depends on what is relevant to a student’s major. This kind of organization cannot take place without “across the curriculum” conversations that clearly establish WHICH math skills are prerequisite for a program of study. 12

Explicit, pervasive student support Key premise: Integrating support services with developmental instruction can keep students engaged and moving forward, and ensure they receive needed assistance. How this relates to the EdSource study findings: Starting remediation in the first year, passing the first remedial course, and enrolling in a second course without much delay were all important for student completion. Note also how this relates to the findings of One Shot Deal that Thad described: students were more satisfied with the counseling support they received if they were part of a structured program such as Puente. Room for growth: ASCCC analysis of 2007-08 basic skills action plans showed 43% of colleges saw integrating counseling and instruction as an area for investment and action. Lab requirements for credit basic skills were the exception rather than the rule at the beginning of the BSI. 13

Rethinking the sequence Modularization Example: Modular developmental math, Jackson State Community College (Tennessee Developmental Studies Redesign) Suite of 12 modules (ranging from integers to quadratics) undertaken in a lab context, rather than 3 course levels. The modules required depend on students’ preparation and the programs of study they intend to pursue. A full Intermediate Algebra course is no longer the single exit route. It’s worth noting that the Jackson State’s math lab is called the SMART Math Center, where SMART stands for “Survive, Master, Achieve, Review and Transfer.” Note the inclusion of the word “Survive”--that tells you something about the motivation for rethinking the nature of the sequence. Indeed, under the former system, only about “18% of all students enrolled in the traditional developmental math program passed Intermediate Algebra.” Note also that which modules a student takes in based not just on the particular areas where he or she needs additional work. It also depends on what is relevant to a student’s major. This kind of organization cannot take place without “across the curriculum” conversations that clearly establish WHICH math skills are prerequisite for a program of study. 14

Explicit, pervasive student support Examples: MDRC’s Student Support Partnership Integrating Resources and Education (SSPIRE). Report describes program potential and the challenges of “scaling up.” Learning communities linking academic courses with support—American River College, College of Alameda, De Anza College, Mt. San Antonio College, Santa Ana College Case management—Taft College, Victor Valley College Study center—Merced College Math summer bridge program with counseling—Pasadena City College Student Success Centers, Chaffey College—Academic support at scale, including faculty support. [Defer to Laura Hope re: Chaffey’s Student Success Centers.] 15

Faculty are key Familiarity with the options, such as those documented in the Poppy Copy and related reviews, is only a first step. Next is understanding the local context and judging what practices—in what form, and for whom—might provide a meaningful, structured response to local challenges. And then? Pilot. Evaluate. Retool. Evaluate some more… A growing number of initiatives in California have or are taking steps to support such inquiry and evaluation by faculty. These include: The Basic Skills Initiative and 3CSN The Carnegie Foundation’s former Strengthening Pre-collegiate Education in Community Colleges (SPECC) program, and projects such as the Faculty Inquiry Network that were inspired by the SPECC example The RP Group’s Bridging Research, Information & Culture (BRIC) project The Equity Model supported by the University of Southern California Center for Urban Education (CUE). 16

Faculty are key Continuous evaluation is an opportunity: For faculty growth and learning, on behalf of wider student success. To strengthen the connection between faculty and institutional researchers on campus. No one has solved this challenge. There is no silver bullet you can import onto your campus. 17

Matthew Rosin, Ph.D. — mrosin@edsource.org For the full research study go to: www.edsource.org/iss_research_communitycollege.html 520 San Antonio Road, Suite 200, Mountain View, CA 94040 • 650-917-9481 Matthew Rosin, Ph.D. — mrosin@edsource.org