ERIC Number: ED588752
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Sep
Pages: 112
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Multiple Measures Placement Using Data Analytics: An Implementation and Early Impacts Report
Barnett, Elisabeth A.; Bergman, Peter; Kopko, Elizabeth; Reddy, Vikash; Belfield, Clive R.; Roy, Susha
Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness
Many incoming college students are referred to remedial programs in math or English based on scores they earn on standardized placement tests. Yet research shows that some students assigned to remediation based on test scores would likely succeed in a college-level course in the same subject area without first taking a remedial course if given that opportunity. Research also suggests that other measures of student skills and performance, and in particular high school grade point average (GPA), may be useful in assessing college readiness. The Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR) is conducting a random assignment study of a multiple measures placement system based on data analytics to determine whether it yields placement determinations that lead to better student outcomes than a system based on test scores alone. Seven community colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system are participating in the study. The alternative placement system evaluated uses data on prior students to weight multiple measures--including both placement test scores and high school GPAs--in predictive algorithms developed at each college that are then used to place incoming students into remedial or college-level courses. Over 13,000 incoming students who arrived at these colleges in the fall 2016, spring 2017, and fall 2017 terms were randomly assigned to be placed using either the status quo placement system (the control group) or the alternative placement system (the program group). The three cohorts of students will be tracked through the fall 2018 term, resulting in the collection of three to five semesters of outcomes data, depending on the cohort. This interim report, the first of two, examines implementation of the alternative placement system at the colleges and presents results on first-term impacts for 4,729 students in the fall 2016 cohort. The initial results are promising. The final report, to be released in 2019, will examine a range of student outcomes for all three cohorts, including completion of introductory college-level courses, persistence, and the accumulation of college credits over the long term. [This report was written with Dan Cullinan.]
Descriptors: Student Placement, Community Colleges, Two Year College Students, Remedial Instruction, Measures (Individuals), Program Effectiveness, College Mathematics, College English, Gender Differences, Racial Differences, Program Implementation, Cost Effectiveness
Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness. Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street Box 174, New York, NY 10027. Tel: 212-678-3091; e-mail: capr@columbia.edu; Web site: https://postsecondaryreadiness.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: Two Year Colleges; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: Columbia University, Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR)
Identifiers - Location: New York
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305C140007
What Works Clearinghouse Reviewed: Meets Evidence Standards without Reservations
WWC Study Page: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Study/86409