Do Early Colleges Work? Results from a rigorous, experimental study

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Do Early Colleges Work?

Results from a rigorous, experimental study

Julie Edmunds, SERVE Center at UNCG

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Goals for Today’s Session• Understand the impact of early college high

schools as determined by a rigorous experimental study in NC.

• Hear lessons learned relative to implementation.

• Consider the implications of these findings for your own situation.


How far along are folks?

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Barely heard of early colleges

Know something about them

Am planning one

Have implemented or studied at least one

Have long experience in implementation


THE EARLY COLLEGE MODEL

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How do you define the Early College Model?

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• What are the characteristics of an early college? What makes it different? – Turn to the person next to you and discuss

your understanding of the model. – Be ready to share your ideas.


Early Colleges We Studied• Small high schools located on college

campuses• Schools of choice to which students apply• Leads to HS diploma and up to 2 years of

college credit• Serve students in grades 9-12 or 13 • Targeted at students who are

underrepresented in college– First generation; low-income; minority

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Students Graduating from High School Ready for College

College Ready

Powerful Teaching and

Learning

Purposeful Design

Professionalism

Leadership

Personalization

High-quality, rigorous, and relevant instruction, ongoing assessment

Small size, location on college campus, flexible use of time

Academic and affective supports, supportive relationships

Ongoing professional development, staff collaboration, collective responsibility

Aligned secondary-postsecondary program of study, grades 9-12 or 13 leading to college credit/assoc. degree, college readiness activities

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Shared leadership, shared vision


STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS


Experimental Study of the Model’s Impact

• Independent study funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

• Partnership between SERVE, Abt Associates, RTI International, Duke University, NCDPI, NC New Schools.

• Seven-year experimental study comparing students who applied to the early college, went through a lottery, and were randomly chosen to attend (treatment) or not to attend (control).

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The sample

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Students who apply to early college

Not selected

Selected

Lottery


Why use a lottery? • To make sure the only

difference between the groups is whether they are in the early college or not.

• To be able to respond when people say: “If I could pick my kids, I would get those kinds of results too.”

• To get results that are accurate and that people will believe.


We are comparing….

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Early College Group

Control Group


Data Sources

Early College Control

Implementation Surveys

Original Student Survey

National Student Clearinghouse

NC Department of Public Instruction

Site Visits

Both


As you hear about the results…

• If you are at a small early college: are you finding the same results? If not, what could your school do to achieve similar results?

• If you are at a comprehensive high school: are you finding the same results? If not, what could your school do to achieve similar results?

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IMPACTS ON…

•On-track for college•High school graduation•Postsecondary enrollment

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On-track for College• Taking and passing the courses needed

for entrance into the UNC system.• 9th Grade: English I and at least one

college-prep math.• 10th Grade: English I and II, at least two

college-prep maths, and one science.• 11th Grade: English I-III, at least three

college-prep maths, two sciences, and one social studies.

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10th Grade Outcomes: Students Who Took or Passed Enough Courses to be On-Track for College

Outcomes

Unadjusted Means Adjusted Impacts

ECHS Control

(N=357) (N=224) Estimate

Overall

% Take-Up 93.9 70.2 17.3*

% Progress 90.8 65.9 20.5*

English

% Take-Up 98.9 95.8 1.1

% Progress 97.8 91.7 5.1*

Math

% Take-Up 93.9 70.2 17.3*

% Progress 91.3 66.8 19.4*

Science

% Take-Up 100.0 97.8 2.2*

% Progress 98.6 95.7 2.0

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11th Grade Outcomes: Students Who Took or Passed Enough Courses to be On-Track for College

Outcomes

Unadjusted Means Adjusted Impacts

ECHS Control

(N=357) (N=224) Estimate

Overall% Take-Up 90.7 67.6 21.3*

% Progress 86.3 65.8 18.1*

English% Take-Up 96.8 90.5 6.3*

% Progress 94.2 88.7 4.8

Math% Take-Up 91.7 68.5 21.2*

% Progress 87.8 66.7 18.6*

Science% Take-Up 99.2 96.0 1.8

% Progress 97.5 93.6 3.9

Social Studies% Take-Up 99.7 98.2 1.6

% Progress 98.9 96.1 2.1

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Impact on Under-Performing

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On-track in 10th Grade On-track in 11th Grade

ECHS Control ECHS Control

Under-Performing 71 27 62 28

Not Under-Performing 94 78 91 77

Gap 23* 51 29 49


On-Track for College Discussion1. What are the courses that students in

your district need for college and how many students are taking and passing these courses?

2. What does a school need to do to get more students on-track for college? – How could a school help more under-

performing students succeed in college preparatory courses?

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Impact on 5-year Graduation Rates

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Rate

Unadjusted Means Adjusted Impact

ECHS

Control Mean

LATE Estimate

Overall 85.0% 77.2% 6.4%

Underrepresented Minority(n=198) 86.2% 74.4% 11.8%

First Generation(n=320) 79.1% 70.3% 10.1%

Low-Income(n=353) 81.6% 70.4% 8.6%

Under-performing Students (n=124) 79.1% 60.7% 19.0%*


Why there are higher graduation rates…

“Student:…There are no failures at this school. They help you. They will make you win. They won’t let you fail anything. It’s just not an option.Student: In my middle school I made Fs and stuff, but here it’s hard for me to make an F. Student: They won’t let it happen….They don’t even let you get past a C. If they know that you’re an A student and if you slip down a little bit they’ll say, ‘Hey, we need to change this’.”

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“Student : But they try their best here to keep you. I've seen a lot of people that have left, and even some that have stayed who I thought were going to leave because they try to keep you. They talk to you. They try to figure out what's happening. Drop-out people at other high schools, they're just gone... But even if, I bet, we didn't come to school for five days, someone's going to be calling…Student : They'd come pick me up if I ever skipped school.”

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Why there are higher graduation rates…


Early colleges are unique…

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Early colleges are unique…

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Pre-K

K-8

9-12

Postsec


Ever Enrolled in Postsecondary Education

• By the sixth year after enrolling in high school, 86 percent of the early college students had ever enrolled in postsecondary education, compared to 65 percent of the control group.

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Attainment of Postsecondary Credential

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Six years after entering high school…• 28 percent of the early college students

had attained an associate’s degree compared to one percent of the control group (p≤.001).

• One percent of the early college students had completed a Bachelor’s degree compared to zero percent of the control sample.


DiscussionFor those who have or are planning an early college:

– What outcomes do you want from your early college efforts?

– What types of data do you collect/plan on collecting to determine if an early college is working?

• For those who are thinking about it: – To what extent do you think an early college

would benefit your community? Why? 28


LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT IMPLEMENTING EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS

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Key Lessons Learned• Many students do not reach their potential in

traditional schools; the early college provides an environment that helps them succeed.

• Creating such an environment requires: – Commitment to a core college prep mission

(requires buy-in from staff) – School support and resources that are all

focused around common vision and common conception of what that vision looks like in practice


Need for Student Support

• Simply changing a policy is not enough.– You cannot change a coursetaking policy by

itself; students will also need support to succeed in higher level classes.


Student selection/participation• Goal is to serve students who would

benefit. – Students who are capable but have

historically had low expectations placed on them.

• Be explicit about your target populations.– Very tempting to serve only students who are

academically well-prepared– Some of the largest impacts for the target

populations 32


Structural issues• Relationship with high school and college:

– Generally improves over time. – Need for strong communication between both

groups. – Conflicts tend to arise over student behavior.

• The importance of hiring: – Staff need to buy into the mission. – Schools need autonomy over hiring.

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Help new early colleges will need…• Assistance with improving instruction:

– Math. – Writing skills. – Focus on cognitive engagement in addition to

behavioral.• Samples of model support structures:

– Academic supports vary widely; some schools use their time more effectively than others.

– Support for students in college courses.

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Open Discussion

• What remaining questions about the impact of early colleges do you have?

• What were some key take-aways for you from this session?

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For more information

Julie [email protected]

336-574-8727

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mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Do Early Colleges Work? Results from a rigorous, experimental study