Measuring the Education Level of California Community College Students’ Parents: Current Status and Preliminary Findings Tom Leigh, Ph.D. Atsuko Nonoyama, Ph.D Research, Analysis, and Accountability Technology, Research & Information Systems California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

Parent Education Data Element Data Completeness First-Generation Definition Characteristics Educational Outcomes TOPICS

Parent Education Data Element

Data Entered by Students at CCCApply Student Profile Section

Parental Education Defined in CCCApply Instruction: “Regardless of your age, please indicate the education levels of the parents and/or guardians who raised you.”

Data Entered by Students at CCCApply Student Profile Section

Parental Education Defined in CCCApply Supplementary Instruction: “For the two parents, other family members, and/or guardians who in your belief played the largest roles in raising you, please indicate the highest level of education that you believe each attained.”

CodingMeaning 1Grade 9 or less 2Grade 10, 11, or 12 but did not graduate 3High school graduate 4Some college but no degree 5AA/AS degree 6BA/BS degree 7Graduate or professional degree beyond a BA/BS YNot applicable, no first (or second) parent/guardian XUnknown / Unreported Position 1 – Parent/Guardian 1 Position 2 – Parent/Guardian 2 Values Available for Parental Education Field (SG09) * Handout

XY X1Y X2Y X3Y X4Y X5Y X6Y X7Y XX1X2X3X4X5X6X7XXXY YY1Y2Y3Y4Y5Y6Y7YXYY 81 Possible Combinations Parent/ Guardian #1 Parent/Guardian #2

Highest Educational Level of the Parents: Simplify! Grade 9 or less Grades 10, 11, or 12 but did not graduate High school graduate Some college but no degree Associate degree Baccalaureate degree Graduate or professional degree beyond a BA/BS Unknown/Unreported/Not Applicable * Handout w/ SAS coding

Data Completeness Where are we now?

1)Students enrolled first time in higher education between Summer 2012 & Spring 2013 (n=251,828), in all CCCs 2) Both credit and non-credit students 3)Counting ‘Y’ (not applicable) as valid while ‘X’ (Unknown/Unreported) as missing 4)Including only students who attended at least one course Data Examined for Completeness

Results

College-level -The college with most complete data reported 94% with valid data -52 colleges (=about half) reported no valid data - The median was 0.4%, mean was 19% Not Ready For Prime Time!

Distribution of Colleges Based on Percent of Students w/ Valid Parental Ed Data * Handout

Trend: Students Enrolled in Fall 2012 vs Spring 2013

Student-level -22.4% (=56,530/251,828) had valid parental education data reported -10 colleges with largest # of valid data accounted for 64% of the reported data -Non-credit students are much less likely to have parental education data reported More on Completeness of Data

Credit vs. Non-credit Students Student N= 251,828

Data for Continuing Students? Fall 2012 first-time students are followed for 1 year…

Of the students whose parental education data are available, what do data look like?

Distribution of Parental Education (*Highest) Parent Education LevelCountPercent Grade 9 or less6, Grades 10,11,or 12 but did not graduate4, High school graduate12, Some college but no degree9, Associate degree5, Baccalaureate degree10, Graduate or professional degree7, Not applicable, no parent/guardian All56,

Using The Parent Education Data Element: First-Generation College Students “Uncertain Climbers” (Richard and Skinner, 1992)

Female (Nomi, 2005) Older (Engle, et. al, 2006 ) Rely on financial aid (Nunez & Cuccaro-Alamin, 1998) Less academically prepared for college (U.S. Department of Education 2008). Under-represented minority. Selected First-Generation Characteristics:

Less likely to persist into the second year (Chen & Carroll, 2005) Complete fewer academic credits (Pascarella, et. al., 2003) Less likely to successfully complete coursework (Davis, 2010) Selected First-Generation Characteristics (cont’d):

less than a bachelor degree less than an associate degree no postsecondary education Variable Definitions of First-Generation

Options Grade Nine Or Less Grades 10,11,or 12 But Did Not Graduate High School Graduate Some College No Degree Associate Degree Baccalaureate Degree Graduate or Professional Degree Option 1 First Generation College Option 2 First Generation College Option 3 First Generation College

Options Grade Nine Or Less Grades 10,11,or 12 But Did Not Graduate High School Graduate Some College No Degree Associate Degree Baccalaureate Degree Graduate or Professional Degree Option 2 First Generation College First-Generation Student Definition: less than an associate degree

First-Generation Counts and Percentages* StatusCountPercent First-Generation19, Non-First-Generation12, All31, * Fall 2012 first-time student with valid parent education value. Caveat: Although these findings are helpful in assessing the construct validity of the Parent Education data element they are not generalizable to the CCC system due to missing data.

Educational Attainment: Developmental Course Enrollment Persistence Fall-to-Fall Course Retention Course Success Units Earned

*Developmental course defined with 2014 Scorecard cohort criteria.

Summary of Findings No Effect Age Course Retention Small-to-Moderate Confirming Effects Gender Persistence Fall-to-Fall Course Success Average Units Earned Per Semester Large Confirming Effects Race-Ethnicity Financial Aid Receipt Developmental Course Enrollment

Future Directions Continue to improve the completeness and quality of the Parent Education Level data element. Include the First-Generation subgroup in routine reporting of student demographics and educational outcomes. Analyze subgroups within the Parent Education data elements.

Thank You. Questions or Comments?

References Chen, X. & Carroll, C. D. (2005). First-generation students in postsecondary education: A look at their college transcripts. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Davis, J. (2010). The first-generation student experience: Implications for campus practice, and strategies for improving persistence and success. College Student Education International. Sterling, VA. Nomi, Takako. (2005). Faces of the future: A portrait of first-generation community college students. American Association of Community Colleges. Washington, DC Nunez, Anne-Marie, Stephanie Cuccaro-Alamin. ( 1998). First generation students: Undergraduates whose parents never enrolled in postsecondary education. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

References cont’d Pascarella, E., Wolniak, G.C., Pierson, C.T., & Terenzini, P.T. (2003). Experiences and outcomes of first-generation students in community colleges. Journal of College Student Development, 44, Engle, J., Bermeo, A., & O'Brien, C. (2006). Straight from the Source: What works for first-generation college students. The Pell Institute For The Study of Opportunity In Higher Education. Washington, DC Richardson, R.C., & Skinner, E.F. (1992). Helping first-generation minority students achieve degrees. In L.S. Zwerling & H.B. London (Eds.), First- generation students: Confronting the cultural issues (New Directions for Community Colleges Series, No. 80, pp ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. NPSAS: 08. Data Analysis System.