Lessons From Two Major Evaluations of Guided Pathways

CCRC recently conducted two major studies to shed light on the feasibility of implementing guided pathways reforms at scale and on the association between implementation and improvements in student outcomes. The first is an evaluation of the AACC Pathways Project, which involved 30 colleges from around the country that were committed to making guided pathways reforms, and the second is an evaluation of guided pathways implementation in three states—Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington State—that launched initiatives to assist colleges across their systems—70 institutions in total—to adopt reforms. This brief summarizes the results of these studies. One of the main findings is that whole-college reform is feasible but takes time—at least five years—to carry out. The authors also find that there is a positive relationship between the scaled implementation of complementary sets of guided pathways practices and some measures of early student momentum in AACC Pathways colleges that made the most progress in implementing guided pathways reforms and in one state (Tennessee) that got an early start on reforms and made good progress; in places that made less progress, the association is weak or not evident. A third major finding is that while students from all backgrounds may benefit from guided pathways reforms, these reforms are not sufficient to close equity gaps between racial and ethnic groups. The authors conclude with five recommendations for community colleges undertaking guided pathways reforms:

1. Offer ongoing case-managed advising by field, predictable schedules, and other supports to help students complete their plans.
2. Remove the obstacle to student success created by prerequisite remediation, particularly in math, and integrate support for students to master college-level courses in their field of study.
3. Take steps to strengthen teaching and learning in program gateway courses, not just math and English composition.
4. Extend tailored guided pathways supports for students from underserved groups.
5. Build on-ramps to career-path college degree programs for underserved K-12 students after high school.