Community Philanthropy for Student Success Initiative: Evaluation Summary

John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, January 2021

Overview. An evaluation of the “Community Philanthropy for Student Success Initiative” (CPI). CPI explored how community funding could play a role in reducing disparities among college completion rates for California students.

Keywords: California, college completion, philanthropy, program evaluation

Of Note:

• Includes community philanthropy initiative theory of action
• Studies to what extent CPI reached its 5 year goals, including factors that aided/prohibited progress
• Shares lessons learned for other philanthropy communities wishing to achieve equitable college completion rates

Helping Youth Realize Their College Dreams: An Impact Study of the San Antonio Area Foundation’s Scholarship Program

Urban Education Institute, April 2021

Overview. An evaluation of the San Antonio Area Foundation’s higher education scholarship program, including estimated impacts on college enrollment, degree completion, student debt, and need to work while in college.

Keywords: college completion, college enrollment, community philanthropy, program evaluation, Texas

Of Note:

• Includes 5 clear policy recommendations based on the research findings
• Provides technical considerations of the research study and design as well
• Study was made possible because of the Foundation’s work in collecting the necessary data

Does the Timing of Money Matter? A Case Study of the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship

Office for Education Policy, February 2021

Overview. A case study analysis of the “Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship” program (ACS), focusing on the impacts of the scholarship on various outcomes (GPA, credit accumulation, graduation rates) for currently enrolled college students, who became eligible when the program was launched.

Keywords: Arkansas, college GPA, college completion, credit accumulation, policy evaluation, scholarships

Of Note:

• Focus on scholarship effects for students already enrolled in college when they became eligible
• Explores potential benefits and drawbacks for using merit scholarships as a policy lever
• Looks into whether the timing of merit aid matters for various outcomes (i.e., sophomore recipients vs juniors vs seniors)
• Includes a discussion of policy implications

Understanding Access to and Participation in Dual Enrollment by Locale and Income Level

REL Central, May 2021

Overview. Descriptive study looking at dual enrollment access and participation patterns across a number of central-U.S. states. Explores how patterns varied with school characteristics, examining these in the context of the individual states, as a region, and how they compare nationally.

Keywords: descriptive study, dual enrollment, access and participation patterns, rural education, state policy

Of Note:

• REL Central region is more rural than the national average, providing a good setting to study this
• Uses data on students and schools from the Civil Rights Data Collection and the National Center for Education Statistics
• Findings can inform state policies and practices related to college and career readiness, especially in terms of dual enrollment

The Impact of Career and Technical Education on Postsecondary Outcomes in Nebraska and South Dakota

REL Central, May 2021

Overview. Research study examining the relationship between completing career and technical ed (CTE) courses in high school and three student outcomes: on-time high school graduation, postsecondary enrollment, and postsecondary completion (within 2 and 5 years).

Keywords: career and technical ed, high school graduation, Nebraska, postsecondary enrollment and completion, South Dakota, state policy

Of Note:

• Nebraska and South Dakota enacted CTE-related policies to improve the alignment between workforce needs and high school students’ skills
• Looks at outcomes for CTE “concentrators”, which is a student who takes a sequence of 2-3 CTE courses aligned to specific career cluster
• The study finds a large, positive impact of being a CTE concentrator on student outcomes

Indiana and Minnesota Students Who Focused on Career and Technical Education in High School: Who Are They, and What Are Their College and Employment Outcomes?

REL Midwest, June 2021

Overview. Research study providing descriptive look at CTE participation in terms of dosage and evaluating impact of CTE coursework on college enrollment, degree attainment, employment rates, and earnings.

Keywords: career and technical ed, descriptive study, CTE participation patterns, Indiana, Minnesota, postsecondary enrollment and completion, state policy, workforce outcomes

Of Note: 

• Studies how CTE “dosage” differs among students and for whom (i.e., concentrators, explorers, samplers, and nonparticipants)
• Indiana and Minnesota define concentrators differently; findings of the research study are still fairly consistent across states
• Includes a discussion of implications, especially how high school teachers and guidance counselors might use this work

The Effects of Accelerated College Credit Programs on Educational Attainment in Rhode Island

REL Northeast & Islands, June 2021

Overview. Descriptive study seeking to understand how accelerated college credit programs (e.g., dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and Advanced Placement) impacts high school completion, postsecondary enrollment, and postsecondary coursetaking.

Keywords: Advanced Placement, concurrent enrollment, dual enrollment, high school graduation, postsecondary enrollment, Rhode Island, state policy

Of Note:

• Rhode Island has invested significantly in efforts to expand access to college credit programs through “PrepareRI Dual Enrollment Fund”
• Study compared participation rates in the accelerated college credit programs by student and school characteristics
• Focused on first-time 9th graders in the 2013/14 school year

Do College and Career Readiness and Early College Success in Indiana Vary Depending on Whether Students Attend Public, Charter, or Private Voucher High Schools?

REL Midwest, March 2021

Overview. Descriptive study that explores the connection between type of high school attended (e.g., public, charter, private) and performance on indicators of college and career readiness and early college success.

Keywords: descriptive study, early college success indicators, high school type, Indiana, readiness indicators

Of Note:

• Indiana made large investments in both its charter schools and private school voucher program 
• Examined how students background characteristics related to high school type
• While not causal, the study provides a first look at how students are sorting themselves and their resulting performance on a variety of relevant outcomes, which can lead to future research

Steps to Develop a Model to Estimate School- and District-Level Postsecondary Success

REL Central, March 2021

Overview. Tool that helps state and local education agencies in designing and running a model to predict student postsecondary success at the school or district level.

Keywords: model development, postsecondary success, state policy, tool

Of Note:

• Tool draws from previous work done with the Kansas State Dept. of Education on the Kansas Postsecondary Effectiveness Model
• Intended to measure influence schools have on their students’ success post-high school
• Results can be used for federal reporting requirements and comparative analysis across schools

Identifying Indicators that Predict Postsecondary Readiness and Success in Arkansas

REL Southwest, June 2021

Overview. Descriptive study testing the strength of a collection of middle and high school indicators in predicting postsecondary readiness.

Keywords: Arkansas, middle and high school indicators, postsecondary readiness

Of Note:

• The Arkansas Dept. of Education identified a collection of middle and high school indicators to monitor student performance towards postsecondary readiness
• The indicators paired with student background characteristics were more accurate than using student background characteristics alone

Alternative Career Readiness Measures for Small and Rural Districts in Texas

REL Southwest, February 2021

Overview. Descriptive study exploring the potential for alternative career readiness indicators to measure career readiness for students in small and rural districts who otherwise do not have access to CTE program or course resources.

Keywords: career readiness, high school indicators, military readiness, postsecondary readiness, rural, Texas, state policy

Of Note:

• Recent Texas law established a funding bonus for districts related to the number of students that met college, career, and military readiness (CCMR) indicators via the state’s accountability system
• Local capacity and funding issues may prevent small and rural districts from providing the coursework that could result in CCMR

Navigating the Maze: Understanding CPS Graduates’ Paths Through College

UChicago Consortium on School Research, May 2021

Overview. Descriptive report exploring the patterns of college enrollment and non-enrollment for high school graduates, including a deep dive into the timing, type, and frequency of post-secondary transitions by student groups.

Keywords: Chicago, college completion, postsecondary pathways, postsecondary mobility

Of Note:

• Includes a number of visualizations to help illustrate the “maze” students move through as they proceed through college
• Provides several snapshots of how postsecondary mobility differs by various student characteristics
• Unique methodology for developing mobility categories, as well as special use of a sequential approach to describing patterns of transfer and enrollment that provide different takes on college pathways

College During the Pandemic: Immediate Enrollment and Retention of CPS Graduates in Fall 2020

UChicago Consortium on School Research, April 2021

Overview. Descriptive brief summarizing patterns of immediate postsecondary enrollment and retention for high school graduates during the fall of 2020.

Keywords: Chicago, COVID, postsecondary enrollment and retention, descriptive study

Of Note:

• Explores the extent to which the pandemic impacted patterns of college enrollment and retention for high school graduates
• Findings show that the class of 2020 continued to enroll in four-year colleges at similar rates to previous classes
• Findings also show a decline in two-year college enrollment and retention, especially among students of color