1. Improving Student Success: 2017 Gulf Coast Student Success Conference
Making the Case for ALP
Susan Gabriel
ALP Director
2017 Gulf Coast Student Success Conference

2. Why did we create the Accelerated Learning Program (ALP)?
Despite our best intentions,
the majority of students who place into developmental courses do not pass a college-level composition course within 4 years (CCRC study).

3. Data from CCRC
The Community College Research Center at Columbia (CCRC) has found that “that few students referred to developmental education progress through their developmental education sequence of courses to succeed in college-level courses: within four years, only percent of students in the study successfully completed a course in college-level English.”
Did not pass
ENG101
in 4 years
55%
Passed
45%
Placed in
dev ed

4. Why did we create the Accelerated Learning Program?
Despite our best intentions, the majority of students who place into developmental courses do not pass a college-level composition course within 4 years.
Even if students pass the basic writing course, many do not go on to take the credit-level composition course—leaking out of the developmental pipeline.

5. Our Early Attempt at Measuring Success
100%
75%
50%
25% 0%
100%
75%
50%
25% 0%
ABC in ENGL 101
287
81%
S in
ENGL 052
490
57%
U or W
ENGL 052
373
43%
DFW in
ENGL 101 68
19%
So we began gathering and analyzing data about our developmental courses. In our early attempts, our data looked like this and we concluded we were doing fairly well. But we thought we could get a better idea of how things were going if, instead of these snapshots of particular moments, we looked at the entire chronology, if we conducted a longitudinal study that followed students through their experiences with developmental writing and ENG 101.
In fact, we have now concluded that this kind of data, success rates in individual courses, is not a particularly good way to evaluate how effective a program is. After all, it is possible to have an 81% passing rate in ENG 101 even if only a handful of students actually ever make it to ENG 101.
Success rates for students
who took ENGL 052
N = 863
Success rates for students
who passed ENGL 052
and then took ENGL 101

6. Our Second Attempt at Measuring Success
Took 052
863
100%
S in 052
490
57%
Never
passed 052
373
43%
Took 101
355
41%
Took no
more writing
courses
135
16%
A, B, or C
in 101
287
33%
D, F, or W 68 8%
We have come to see that a longitudinal study in which you follow students through the entire sequence of courses provides a much more useful insight into the success of a program.
When we did this, we found that of our original 863 students, after 4 years, only 57% had passed ENG Even more startling, of those 490 who passed 052, 135 never even attempted ENG 101; they simply leaked out of the system. After looking at a lot of diagrams like this one, we have come to talk of the program as a pipeline, and we have come to say that students like the 43% who never passed 052 and the 16% who passed 052 but didn’t even attempt 101 after 4 years, we have come to describe this phenomenon as “leakage from the pipeline.” Much of the design of ALP has been an attempt to shorten the pipeline so there is less opportunity for “leakage.”
576 students (67%) were not successful or dropped out.
Each number represents a person, a real person. A L P
Accelerated Learning Program

7. 81% of students entering CCBC test into one or more developmental
CCBC Demographics
Number of credit students: 31,119
Average age: 29
Female/male ratio: 58%/42%
Students of color: 54%
52% work 20 hours or more per week
50% receive some form of financial aid
Full/Part time ratio: 11/89%
Three main campuses; 3 extension centers
81% of students entering CCBC test into one or more developmental
disciplines
65% Dev. Writing
77% Dev. Mathematics
58% Dev. Reading

8. CCBC’s Dev Ed Reading and English Courses Pre-Acceleration
Most General Education courses
RDG
051
5 hr
052
4 hr
ENGL
051
4 hr
052
3 hr
ENG
101
ENG
102
Total developmental hours for Reading and English = 16

9. Timeline for ALP at CCBC
Fall 1993 Research Study
Fall
2006
Pizza
Hut
Meeting
Fall
2007
Launch
of ALP
Fall
2007 to
Spring
2008
Five-section
pilot
Fall
2008 to
Spring 2012
Doubling
number of
sections
each year
2012-
2015 70
sections
each
semester
Elements of ALP
Faculty initiative
Co-requisite model
Partnership with advisors and registration personnel
Emphasis on student success data collection

10. ALP at CCBC: Original Co-Requisite Model
(Spring 2007-Spring 2016)
ENG 101
ENG 052
(The ALP Class)
Reduces stigma
Improves attachment
Provides stronger role models
Encourages cohort effect
Changes attitude toward the developmental course
Allows more individual attention
Allows coordination of the ALP and credit courses
Allows time for dealing with non-cognitive issues A L P
The Accelerated Learning Program

11. Goal of a traditional developmental writing course:
How does an ALP developmental writing class differ from a traditional developmental writing course?
Goal of a traditional developmental writing course:
For students to pass the developmental course and to be ready for English 101
Goal of an ALP developmental writing class:
For students to pass English 101
This Changes Everything!

12. Pedagogy for Acceleration
Backward curriculum design
Active/collaborative learning
Acknowledging effects of non-cognitive issues on student success: productive persistence
Coordination of the two courses, including scaffolding and support activities for ALP students
Rethinking grammar instruction
Focus on improving critical thinking skills
“Teaching the way you always wished you could!”
After discussing this slide, Peter turns it back to Sarah.

13. Student Success
and
Retention Data

14. Traditional developmental students:
Took
ENG 101
2661
48%
Took no
more writing
courses
943
17%
Traditional developmental students:
fall 2007 –
fall 2010
Took
ENG 052
Fa07-Fa10
5545
100%
Passed
ENG 052
3604
65%
Did not pass
1941
35%
ALP students:
fall 2007 –
fall 2010
Took
ENG 052
Fa07-Fa10
592
100%
Passed
ENG 052
485
82%
Didn’t
pass
107
18%
Took
ENG 101
592
100%
Took no
more writing
courses 0%
data from Cho, Kopko, & Jenkins, 2012 (CCRC)

15. Traditional developmental students:
Took
ENG 101
2661
48%
Took no
more writing
courses
943
17%
Traditional developmental students:
Fall 2007 –
Fall 2010
Took
ENG 052
Fa07-Fa10
5545
100%
Passed
ENG 052
3604
65%
Did not pass
1941
35%
Passed
ENG 101
1829
33%
Didn’t
pass
832
15%
ALP students:
Fall 2007 –
Fall 2010
Took
ENG 052
Fa07-Fa10
592
100%
Passed
ENG 052
485
82%
Didn’t
pass
107
18%
Took
ENG 101
592
100%
Took no
more writing
courses 0%
Passed
ENG 101
438
74%
Didn’t
pass
154
26%
data from Cho, Kopko, & Jenkins, 2012 (CCRC)

16. traditional developmental students:
passed
ENG 052
3604
65%
did not pass
1941
35%
took
Fa07-Fa10
5545
100%
ENG 101
2661
48%
took no
more writing
courses
943
17%
485
82%
didn’t
pass
107
18%
592 0%
1829
33%
832
15%
438
74%
154
26%
traditional developmental students:
fall 2007 –
fall 2010
took
ENG 102
721
13%
haven’t
taken
1109
20%
passed
ENG 102
554
10%
F, I, or W in
ENG102
167 3%
ALP students:
fall 2007 –
fall 2010
took
ENG 102
296
50%
haven’t
taken
142
24%
passed
ENG 102
195
33%
haven’t passed ENG102
101
17%
data from Cho, Kopko, & Jenkins, 2012 (CCRC)

17. ENGL 101 Pass Rates N=149 N=288 N=550 N=587 N=669 N=1406 N=1328 N=1042
Traditional Dev Writing
ALP
80%
65%
65%
68%
N=149
N=288
57%
N=550
62%
N=587
N=669
60%
40%
28%
N=1406
27%
N=1328
N=1042
31%
N=884
N=687
29%
20%
N=590
N=700
Fall
2009
Fall
2010
Fall
2011
Fall
2012
Fall
2013
Fall
2014

18. Percent Earning 12 - 17 Credits within 1 Year of
ENGL 052 (Traditional or ALP)
Traditional Dev Writing
ALP
40%
30%
22%
21%
25%
23%
20%
10%
12% 7% 9%
10%
Fall
2010
Fall
2011
Fall
2012
Fall
2013
Fall
2014

19. Pass Rates in 101 by Accuplacer Score
100%
Traditional Dev Writing
ALP
54%
46%
77%
77%
75%
44%
69%
50%
31%
25%
25%
23%
Accuplacer
Scores:
58-69
70-79
80-89

20. Replicating ALP

21. 2-Year National ALP Replication Study Overview
Key study objectives from the Kresge ALP grant project:
Conduct inventory of ALP programs nationwide
Conduct data collection and qualitative assessment of seven diverse ALP schools: four schools from the list were studied for the second year
Study coordinated by Achieving the Dream.
Research conducted by the Center for Applied Research (CFAR). A L P
The Accelerated Learning Program

22. Success Rates for 7 Participating Colleges
comparison cohort
ALP cohort
76%
86%
73%
68%
94%
51%
82%
75%
50%
37%
33%
38%
48%
39%
35%
47%
25% A
suburbs
Midwest B
suburbs
Midwest C
20000+
urban
Southwest D
<5000
small town
Midwest E
<5000
suburbs
Southeast F
<5000
rural
Southeast G
small town
Mid-Atlantic

23. Findings, Implications, Challenges,
and the Future
All colleges in the study experienced success even when the CCBC model was modified.
Findings suggest that adopting or adapting an ALP-like model of acceleration will likely benefit students.
Faculty development (for full-time and adjunct ALP instructors) should be a high priority, both for existing and newly created ALP programs.
Without question, advisors play a key role in the success and scale-up of ALP.
The most troubling finding is: “most colleges start small, and scale-up has been minimal.”
Without a plan for scale-up, ALP models will not likely become institutionalized.
Complete text of both years of the study available on ALP website: deved.org A L P
The Accelerated Learning Program

24. ALP Schools in Texas Alvin Community College Blinn College
Coastal Bend College
El Paso Community College
Hill College
Houston Community College
Lone Star College System
Northeast Lakeview College
St. Phillip’s College
Texas State Technical College-Waco
University of Texas, San Antonio
Weatherford Community College

25. Bringing ALP to Full Scale
at CCBC

26. Why CCBC integrated reading and writing in ALP
ALP had reached 80% scale-up system-wide, but had stalled.
After studying the problem, the main obstacles to full scale were:
Requirement that students with a dev. reading placement take a 4-hr (nonrelated, stand-alone) reading course in addition to the 6-hr ALP sequence (Total of 10 hrs.)
Part-time students were affected the most by this—89% of our students are part-time. Most part-time students take 9 or fewer credit hours each semester.
After discussing this slide, Peter turns it back to Sarah.

27. CCBC’s New Integrated Reading/Writing Sequence: Beginning Fall 2016
ACLT
052
5 cr.
ENGL
101
3 cr.
ACLT
053
3 cr.
ENGL
101
3 cr.
ENGL
102
3 cr.

28. Revised Pedagogy for Acceleration
Backward curriculum design
Active/collaborative learning
Acknowledging effects of non-cognitive issues on student success: productive persistence
Coordination of the two courses, including scaffolding and support activities for ALP students
Rethinking grammar instruction
Integrated reading, writing, and critical thinking skills
“Teaching the way you always wished you could!”
After discussing this slide, Peter turns it back to Sarah.

29. Timeline: ALP @ 10 Fall 1993 Research Study Fall 2006 Pizza Hut
Meeting
Fall
2007
Launch
of ALP
Fall
2007 to
Spring
2008
Five-section
pilot
Fall
2008 to
Spring 2015
Doubling
number of
sections
each year
Fall
2016
Full scale up
106
sections
new IRW
ALP
model
Elements of ALP
Faculty initiative
Co-requisite model
Partnership with advisors and registration personnel
Emphasis on student success data collection

30. ALP at CCBC: Our New IRW Co-Requisite Model
ENG 101
ACLT 053
(The ALP Class)
Reduces stigma
Improves attachment
Provides stronger role models
Encourages cohort effect
Changes attitude toward the developmental course
Allows more individual attention
Allows time for dealing with non-cognitive issues
Allows students with dev. placements in writing and reading to enroll A L P
The Accelerated Learning Program

31. Details of the new ALP IRW model
Default placement for students with the following Accuplacer scores:
Reading: and/or English:
Taught by ACLT (formerly Reading) and English faculty
Cross training between the disciplines as part of semester-long IRW ALP faculty development training for 88 full-time and adjunct faculty
Students with lower-level placements (Reading: 36-60; English 0-57) take ACLT 052, a 5-hour IRW class.
All stand-alone sections of developmental reading and developmental writing have been eliminated.

32. What do we do in the ALP class (ACLT 053)?
The goal for ALP instructors: Maximize the ALP students’probability of success in the English 101 class. Strategies include:
Conducting class as an extension/supplement to the 101 class—think of it as a 6-hour 101 class, “Triage for English 101”
Answering questions left over from the 101 class
Providing opportunities for closer analysis of the readings, more writing practice using low-stakes, short papers to reinforce concepts from the readings and from the 101 class or to prepare for upcoming assignments in the 101 class
Discussing/brainstorming ideas for the next essay in 101
Reviewing drafts of essays the students are working on for 101
Helping students to be aware of their sentence-level errors and to become better self-editors
Addressing non-cognitive issues (life issues, affective issues)
After discussing this slide, Peter turns it back to Sarah.

33. What an ALP class is not A study hall: students working on their own
A class mainly focused on grammar
A class consisting only of computer- assisted learning
After discussing this slide, Peter turns it back to Sarah.

34. Backward Design

35. Backward Design Current developmental writing textbooks and readers:
Level-one developmental writing texts focus on ?
sentences
Level-two developmental writing texts focus on ?
paragraphs
Reading level is often 6th grade.
Students feel as though they are back in middle school.
In backward design you begin by:
assigning college-level essays,
based on complex, college-level texts, with
activities and assignments to support student
success with these challenges.

36. Coordinating the Two Courses
Start with your credit-level composition course and plan “backwards” for your IRW developmental course (the ALP class).
Let’s look a the common course outlines for CCBC’s ACLT 053/ENGL 101 and a sample theme-based teaching unit with weekly lesson plans for each course.

37. Final Thoughts
It’s time to change the way we think about developmental students. Instead of worrying about what developmental students can’t do, instead think about what developmental students can do when provided encouragement and support.
Adopt the philosophy of “meeting students
where they are.”
Move away from the “one size fits all” philosophy.

38. “Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of, who do the things no one can imagine.” Alan Turing, subject of The Imitation Game

39. Your Thoughts and Questions

40. Susan Gabriel sgabriel@ccbcmd.edu
ALP Website