Success is what counts. 1 State of ATD: March 2011 Carol Lincoln Senior Vice President, ATD

Success is what counts. 2 Today’s Comments Where ATD is, Where it is going MDRC Interim report on experience at Round One Colleges You are part of a “movement” and you are the change we hope to see in our institutions and in the lives of our students.

Success is what counts. 3 ATD is a Growing, Vibrant Network of Innovators and Reformers

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5 ATD’s Brand is Strong, Potential is Significant Well known for data driven change, culture of evidence, student success and completion mission ATD institutions serve over 2 million students ATD is aligned with national goals for community colleges and with goals of major foundations: Obama: 5 million additional awards by 2020  ATD colleges could provide 20% of those awards Lumina: 60% adults with PS credentials by 2025 Gates: double the number of year olds with PS credentials with value in the work place

Success is what counts. 6 ATD’s Post-Demonstration “Look” ATD Inc – single-purpose organization: community college student success and completion National location and national voice Refine and improve services, reduce costs, steer planning teams to high impact strategies, utilize technology, re-grants to colleges Grow ATD in high need regions and states Explore statewide models for entry into ATD Double down on challenges raised by MDRC/CCRC evaluation: faculty engagement, IR/IT capacity, scale, and teaching and learning – see Public Agenda series

Success is what counts. 7 Leader Colleges as National Exemplars Follow ATD’s institutional improvement model 3 years of upward trend data on one or more ATD outcome measures – see “Project Goldmine” Applications each spring No fee associated with Leader College Status Benefits, privileges, responsibilities, continued improvement 3 year “requalification” requirement 50 Leader Colleges by 2013

Success is what counts. 8 Platform for Testing and Spreading Innovation 15 colleges, 6 states in Developmental Education Initiative to scale effective dev ed practices/policies 13 colleges in Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s Statway/Quantway Initiative 7 colleges in Casey Foundation Center for Working Families expansion Completion by Design Strategy Institute is a key forum

Success is what counts. 9 Exciting and Important Future 3-5 target states as proof points 135 colleges at steady state 50 leader colleges by 2013 More subsets of colleges innovating particular strategies Grants to colleges for peer coaching/learning, scale New strategic partnerships – e.g., Bank of America Continuing involvement of founding partners Stronger role for chancellors and presidents Increased services – e.g., Trustee Institutes

Turning the Tide: Five Years of Achieving the Dream in Community Colleges

Success is what counts. 11 States and Colleges in this Evaluation

Success is what counts. 12 How MDRC Measured Progress in Building a Culture of Evidence Field visits to all 26 colleges near the beginning of their implementation grants (2006) and at the end (2009) Review colleges’ annual progress reports Review coach and data coach reports Survey of college administrators and faculty

Success is what counts. 13 How MDRC Examined Student Outcomes Used colleges’ cohort data from Compared trends before and after the initiative began to determine whether there was significant change Examined major indicators of student success, such as pass rates out of developmental education and persistence Examined all 26 colleges together – not individual institutions

Success is what counts. 14 Achieving the Dream’s Five-Step Process for Institutional Change (1) Commit Leadership (2) Use Data to Prioritize Actions (3) Engage Stakeholders (4) Implement and Evaluate (5) Establish a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Success is what counts. 15 The Bottom Line: Most colleges made meaningful progress in building a culture of evidence Colleges implemented many strategies to improve student success – but they were torn between “breadth” and “depth” To date, not much movement on institution-wide measures of student success Exceptions: Modest improvements in completion of Gateway English courses and percent of attempted courses completed

Success is what counts. 16 The Colleges Implemented Nearly 200 Strategies to Improve Student Success

Success is what counts. 17 Colleges Reported a Tradeoff between Intensity and Scale of Interventions

Success is what counts. 18 Trend in Developmental English Completion – within 2 years Pre-ATD trend Initiative Launch

Success is what counts. 19 Trend in Fall-to-Fall Persistence Pre-ATD trend Predicted trend absent ATD

Success is what counts. 20 Trend in Gateway English Completion Pre-ATD trend Predicted trend absent ATD

Success is what counts. 21 Achieving the Dream Set a High Bar for Judging Effectiveness Institutional change is a gradual process More students need to be touched by interventions to “move the needle” on institutional measures Story is not fully written: Two more years of follow-up at Round 1 colleges Evaluation of Round 3 colleges in Washington State in progress Evaluation of ATD’s 2 year and 3 year model in progress Greatest lessons may emerge from further analysis of college variances from the average and of the experience of more recent cohorts

Success is what counts. 22 Implications of the Evaluation Achieving the Dream has served as a catalyst for institutional change – but the work is ongoing. Bringing effective interventions to scale is the next major challenge. Will require continuing/increased faculty and staff involvement. Need to tackle what happens in the classroom – especially in developmental education.

Success is what counts. 23 Math In-Order Course Completion and Enrollment 3+ levels below 2 levels below 1 level below GK Algebra Referred to Level 3+ 96,653 TOTAL: 10% Not completed 24% Not completed 11% Not completed 5% Not enrolled 21% Not enrolled 15% Not enrolled 7% Not enrolled 5% Sample: cohorts, tracked for three years Passed 55% Enrolled 79% Enrolled 40% Passed 29% Enrolled 22% Passed 17% Enrolled 12% Not completed 2%

Turning the Tide: Five Years of Achieving the Dream in Community Colleges Is available for download at and at

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