Latest research about programs that support postsecondary success

New WWC Reviews find Positive Impacts among College Re-Enrollment Campaigns and in interim reports of Multiple Measures Assessment and Placement for Student Success What does the latest research say about programs that support postsecondary success? Not all education research is equal—the WWC identifies well-designed studies, trustworthy research, and meaningful findings to inform decisions and improve student outcomes. This month, we are highlighting two new reviews of studies on postsecondary education, adding to over 10,000 existing citations about what works in education. This month’s studies focus on evaluating the impact of two programs—College Re-Enrollment Campaigns, which encouraged community college students who discontinued coursework to re-enroll, and Multiple Measures Assessment and Placement, which employs multiple measures, such as placement tests, high school GPA, and other assessments instead of a single measure to determine placement in developmental or standard coursework. College Re-Enrollment Campaigns Despite the financial and other social benefits students can experience after completing a degree, many people drop out of college even after making substantial progress toward earning a credential. College re-enrollment campaigns encourage students to re-enroll and complete their degree. This study examined the effects of a text message-based college re-enrollment campaign to nudge former students who “stopped out” to re-enroll in community college. Featured study. Ortagus, Tanner, and McFarlin (2020) conducted a study on the impacts of text message-based re-enrollment campaigns at five Florida community colleges. Former students were eligible for the study if they (1) accrued 30 credit hours; (2) established a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better; (3) had no behavioral or financial holds preventing their re-enrollment; and (4) were previously enrolled in a degree-seeking program, but “stopped out” in the past three years. The study randomly assigned 27,028 former students to (1) receive text-based nudges to re-enroll (Information-Only Group); (2) receive text-based nudges plus tuition waiver for one course (Information + One Course Waiver); or (3) a comparison group that received no text messages or waivers but had access to traditional advising and financial assistance offered by the college. Study findings. The study found that while there were no impacts of text message-based re-enrollment campaigns based solely on information nudges, re-enrollment campaigns that included both informational nudges and the tuition waiver for one course, equivalent to three credit hours of in-state tuition at the college, had statistically significant positive impacts on college re-enrollment. WWC study rating. The study used a randomized controlled trial design and meets WWC standards without reservations. Access the full study review here, in the WWC’s review of individual studies database. Multiple Measures Assessment and Placement Developmental education in community colleges is meant to help students acquire the literacy and numeracy skills necessary for college-level coursework. Despite that goal, there are concerns about developmental education’s efficacy and potential unintended consequences bearing on student success. Multiple Measures Assessment (MMA) is an alternative to the practice of administering a single test to assess if colleges should place students in developmental education. MMA systems might help college administrators identify students who need developmental education versus students who can begin with standard coursework. Featured study. Cullinan et al. (2019) conducted a study on the impacts of MMA on progression in college. The study included an initial sample of 5,282 students admitted to four community colleges in Minnesota. The MMA system adopted by each community college varied, but all systems included two or more of the following measures: placement test scores; high school GPA, SAT or ACT scores; and results of assessments of noncognitive skills, such as attitudes toward college and motivation. These additional measures led to the identification of students whose colleges normally would place them in developmental education but had a high school GPA or other test scores that indicated they might perform well in college-level courses. These students were described as being in a “bump up” zone; there were 624 bump up students based on their scores in English and 703 students based on their math scores. The students in this zone were randomly assigned to take standard college courses or developmental education courses. Study Findings. The study is at an early stage so the WWC reviewed an interim report. The study authors found that “bump up” students were significantly more likely to enroll in college if they were assigned to standard college English courses than remedial coursework. Effects among “bump up” students assigned to math college courses in lieu of developmental education were not statistically significant. The WWC’s review of the combined math and English samples did not find a statistically significant effect on college enrollment. WWC study rating. The study used a randomized controlled trial design and meets WWC standards without reservations. Access the full study review here, in the WWC’s review of individual studies database. Search the Reviews of Individual Studies Database to find studies reviewed by the WWC. With thousands of citations in this database, you can explore studies that meet WWC design standards to find detailed information about study characteristics and ratings, as well as the WWC publication in which a particular study was cited.