1. Participation and pass rates for college preparatory transition courses in Kentucky By Christine Mokher
Michael Flory & Patricia Kannapel
REL Appalachia
Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative
April 30, 2014

2. Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Program
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences
RELs provide regional support for:
Applied research and evaluation.
Technical support and information sharing to build capacity to use data for improved educational outcomes.

3. REL Appalachia’s mission
Meet the applied research and technical support needs of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Bring evidence-based information to policy makers and practitioners:
Provide support for a more evidence-reliant education system.
Inform policy and practice for states, districts, schools, and other stakeholders.
Focus on high-priority, discrete issues and build a body of knowledge over time.
Goal is to build an evidence-reliant education system grounded in data and research.

4. College readiness of Kentucky’s students
During the 2007/08 school year:
Kentucky ranked 47th in the country in bachelor’s degree attainment.
41 percent of Kentucky’s first-time freshmen in postsecondary institutions needed remediation in one or more subjects.
Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) created new pathways to improve the college readiness of Kentucky students.
KDE required high schools to offer at least one pathway to students beginning in the 2010/11 school year.
One pathway emphasized by KDE and CPE was college preparatory transition courses.

5. What are transition courses?
Transition courses are classes taught in high school, usually grade 12, to help students achieve college readiness in specific content areas.
Should reduce the need for developmental education once students reach college.
Implementation varies in terms of students targeted, whether course is required, course content and format, and availability of professional development.
States are beginning to track participation in transition courses.
There is limited evidence to date about the effectiveness of such courses.

6. Transition courses in Kentucky
KDE made transition course curricula available for math in 2010/11 and for reading in 2011/12.
Schools can choose curricula from multiple developers:
KDE.
Colleges and universities.
School districts.
Kentucky’s college preparatory transition courses:
Can be for course credit.
Align with the ACT, Common Core State Standards, and Kentucky’s college and career readiness standards.

7. How Kentucky defines college readiness
CPE set benchmarks for college readiness using ACT scores.
“Meeting benchmarks”—scored 19 or higher on math or 20 or higher on reading
“Approaching benchmarks”—scored on math or on reading
KDE recommended transition courses for students in this group
“Performing below benchmarks”—scored 15 or lower on math or 16 or lower on reading

8. Research questions
What are the number and percentage of grade 12 students in the three state benchmark categories?
What are the participation rates in full-semester college preparatory transition courses in math and reading for grade 12 students in the three state benchmark categories?
Among grade 12 students who enroll in full-semester college preparatory transition courses in math and reading, what is the pass rate in 2011/12 for students in the three state benchmark categories?
No college readiness outcome data were available for these students at the time of the study.
Based on discussion with our alliance, we examined prevalence of transition courses (a specific CCR intervention).
How many students enroll in these courses?
Which students?
Study provides descriptive analyses of the types of students who took transition courses and their performance in those courses.

9. More students were approaching benchmarks in math
2011/12 graduates, 11th grade ACT scores
Percent
Almost twice as many students were approaching state benchmarks in math than in reading.
These are the students that were targeted for an intervention.
More than one third of students were performing below state benchmarks in reading.

10. Few schools offered college transition courses
Percent
Almost twice as many students were approaching state benchmarks in math than in reading.
These are the students that were targeted for an intervention.
More than one third of students were performing below state benchmarks in reading.

11. Enrollment for target students in math courses

12. Enrollment for target students in reading courses

13. Transition courses enrolled students from all groups
Math
Reading
2011/12 graduates, 11th grade ACT scores
Math:
More than half of students enrolled in a math transition course were approaching benchmarks (the targeted group).
Nearly one third of students enrolled in a math transition course were performing below benchmarks.
Reading:
Less than one third of students enrolled in a reading transition course were approaching benchmarks (the targeted group).
More than half of students enrolled in a reading transition course were performing below benchmarks.

14. Most students that enrolled in a transition course passed
Percent
Statewide, passing rates for both math and reading transition courses were above 90% for students “approaching benchmarks,” based on course grades.

15. Conclusions
Few schools offer transition courses for high school seniors.
Few seniors who were approaching college readiness benchmarks enrolled in transition courses.
In general, transition courses have been implemented differently than intended by state policy.
Students from outside the targeted group enrolled in transition courses.
Enrollment trends have implications for course curriculum and instruction.
There is insufficient data on the effectiveness of these courses.
The full report, Participation and Pass Rates for College Transition Courses in Kentucky, is available at

16. www.relappalachia.org @REL_Appalachia
Connect with us!

17. REL Appalachia staff for the KyCCRA
Dr. Patricia J. Kannapel, Alliance Coordinator
(502)
Dr. Michael Flory, Alliance Researcher
(703)
Dr. Jerry Johnson, Alliance Researcher
(904)

18. District Level Map
588acaf5a7f5fb9af14