Publications

This edition of Inside Out, a publication of CCRC's Scaling Innovation project, outlines a three-part framework for colleges looking to adopt and adapt a developmental education reform.

Based on fieldwork in two distinct labor markets, this paper compares how associate and bachelor's degrees are perceived by employers seeking to hire IT technicians.

This paper uses student-level data from a statewide community college system to examine the validity of placement tests and high school information in predicting course grades and college performance.

This paper analyzes the predictive validity of one of the most commonly used placement exams using data on over 42,000 first-time entrants in a large, urban community college system.

This practitioner packet synthesizes CCRC's findings on dual enrollment outcomes, presents a case study, and lays out guiding questions for practitioners implementing dual enrollment programs.

This National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper examines working patterns among traditional-age college students from 1970–2009, considers several explanations for the long-term trend of rising employment, and examines whether the upward trend is likely to resume when economic conditions improve.

This inaugural edition of Inside Out, a publication of CCRC's Scaling Innovation project, provides an introduction to the project and its partners.

This paper argues that to improve completion rates, colleges must help students enter programs as soon as possible; it presents a method for measuring program entry and completion rates using transcript data.

This NCPR working paper uses a regression discontinuity design to gauge the causal effects of dual enrollment on rates of high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion among students on the margin of eligibility for dual enrollment participation.

Over the past three decades, almost half of all states have implemented some form of performance funding in an effort ...

This journal article uses administrative data from West Virginia to provide the first quasi-experimental estimates of the effect of the Federal Work Study (FWS) program.

This paper examines the role of entry assessment and its implementation, the validity of common assessments, and emerging directions in assessment policy and practice.

Using data from two cohorts of all high school students in Florida and controlling for schools' and students' characteristics, this NCPR working paper examines the relative power of AP and dual enrollment in predicting students' college access and success.

This NCPR report presents the early findings of an evaluation of eight developmental summer bridge programs in Texas (seven at community colleges and one at an open-admissions four-year university).

A clustering algorithm is applied to the transcripts of a cohort of first-time students in the Washington State system in order to determine what programs of study they appear to be pursuing.

This report discusses eight secondary-postsecondary partnerships in California that sought to integrate dual enrollment with a career-focused strategy for engaging struggling students.

Administrative data from Washington State is used to chart the educational pathways of first-time community college students, with a focus on young, socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

This study used a statewide administrative dataset to estimate the effects of taking one's first college-level math or English course online rather than face to face, in terms of both course retention and course performance.

This how-to guide provides information for practitioners, schools, and districts on how to incorporate college coursework into high school academies and pathways.

This paper uses a quasi-experimental approach to identify causal effects of West Virginia's PROMISE scholarship program, which offers free tuition to students who maintain a minimum GPA and course load.

This literature review explores the evidence on the effects of acceleration on student outcomes and describes the various acceleration models that are used with developmental education students.

This paper uses administrative data from Washington State to compare the outcomes of young career-technical students across both technical colleges and comprehensive community colleges

The I-BEST program at Washington State's community and technical colleges integrates basic skills education with vocational training and has increased completion rates for participating students.

In CCRC's 2011 newsletter, Director Thomas Bailey discusses what we have learned about effective practices in community college from CCRC’s Assessment of Evidence Series.

Effective nonacademic supports work by creating social relationships, clarifying goals and enhancing commitment, developing college know-how, and addressing conflicting demands on students.

This policy brief examines key issues raised by Washington State's experience with the Student Achievement Initiative model of performance funding for community and technical colleges.

This review of the postsecondary literature on online learning suggests that online coursework hinders progression for low-income and underprepared students, explores why students might struggle in these courses, and offers suggestions on how public policy and institutional practice could be changed to improve online learning.

This working paper investigates enrollment patterns and academic outcomes over five years in online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses among students who enrolled in Washington State community and technical colleges in the fall of 2004.

This paper summarizes findings from eight working papers (the Assessment of Evidence Series) that synthesized research on strategies for improving outcomes for community college students, and makes four broad recommendations based on these findings.

This paper reviews the evidence base for pedagogical reforms in the developmental mathematics classroom, examining the theoretical and empirical evidence on six innovative instructional approaches.

This report discusses political forces that shaped performance funding policies in eight states: Florida, Illinois, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, California, and Nevada.

The experiences of three states that dropped performance funding (Missouri, Washington, and Florida) are contrasted with those of a fourth (Tennessee) that has retained it more than 30 years.

Based on practices found to be effective among a broad range of high-performance organizations, this paper outlines practical steps community colleges can take to bring about continuous improvement in student learning and progression.

Evidence from behavioral economics and psychology lends support for the idea that students are more likely to persist and succeed in programs with highly structured paths to completion.

This article reviews the existing literature on the economic and other benefits of attending community college and considers the methodological challenges associated with calculating earnings gains from attending a community college.

This paper provides evidence on the potential efficacy of a contextualized approach in helping students develop an important academic skill, written summarization.

This interim report examines the experiences of the first 26 colleges to join Achieving the Dream, which helps community colleges collect and analyze student performance data to increase student success.

This paper examines the influence of validation by faculty on students' sense of integration in college and intent to persist.

Using data on students in Washington State who pursued IT coursework at community colleges and then entered the labor market, this paper presents findings on the employment outcomes of IT students by the type of preparation they completed, and on the types of employers that hired these students.

This report examines the origins of state performance funding in six states and concludes by drawing lessons for policymakers.

Prepared for the 2010 White House Summit on Community College, this brief discusses partnerships that promote college enrollment, college readiness, and postsecondary persistence.

Prepared for the 2010 White House Summit on Community College, this brief discusses developmental education challenges and describes initiatives designed to improve remedial services.

This paper presents findings from a quantitative analysis of the Community College of Baltimore County's Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) for upper level developmental writing students.

This study examines online course taking patterns among students in the Virginia Community College System, as well as retention and performance in online versus face-to-face courses, and subsequent educational outcomes.

This paper analyzes patterns of student progression through sequences of developmental education starting from initial referral.

The eligibility of undocumented students to apply for in-state tuition varies by state. This article analyzes the political origins of divergent responses among states, drawing on the advocacy coalition framework and policy entrepreneurship theory of policymaking.

CCRC examined educational and labor market outcomes of participants in I-BEST, which aims to help adult basic skills students succeed in postsecondary occupational education and training.

This paper demonstrates that a close analysis of the studies of online learning included in a Department of Education meta-analysis reveals no trend in favor of the online course mode.

This brief describes how state workforce agencies can link education and workforce data to monitor how well their education and workforce development investments are meeting labor market needs.

This article describes some of the ways in which dual enrollment requires the engagement of college faculty with high school personnel and their students, and it reviews the challenges and potential benefits of these relationships.