Accelerated Programs

Issue Focus

Adapting the Evidence for 2020 and Beyond

June, 2020

MDRC has studied a number of strategies for helping students stay in college and succeed there. Lessons from some of these models may be readily adapted to support students and close equity gaps now and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This Issue Focus offers three lessons taken from MDRC’s evaluations.

Report

Interim Implementation and Impact Findings from New York City’s P-TECH 9-14 Schools

May, 2020

This report evaluates a program focused on preparing students for college and career. Based on partnerships among high schools, community colleges, and employers, the program offers accelerated high school course work, early college, and work-based learning experiences. The findings suggest that students are meeting the benchmarks they need to succeed.

Report

A Study of a Transition Program Serving Students with Low Math Skills at a Community College

March, 2020
Angela Boatman, Oscar Cerna, Kayla Reiman, John Diamond, Mary Visher, Elizabeth Zachry Rutschow

A four-week course to prepare students for developmental-level math did not attract many students who were referred to it. While some participants gained needed skills, most did not complete the course or move on to developmental math, and communication about the course among staff, faculty, advisors, and students was inconsistent.

Report

Three-Year Results from the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) Ohio Demonstration

January, 2020

This report presents findings through three years from a replication of the City University of New York Accelerated Study in Associate Programs model at three community colleges in Ohio. The Ohio programs nearly doubled degree receipt through three years and led to an increase in transfers to four-year colleges.

For The Higher Education Randomized Controlled Trial project ( THE - RCT ), MDRC has created the largest individual-participant database from higher education randomized controlled trials to date. THE - RCT makes standardized, deidentified data from more than 25 studies covering 50 institutions of higher education and 65,000 students securely available to qualified...

Infographic
December, 2018

In NYC P-TECH Grades 9-14 schools, students take an integrated sequence of high school and college courses with the goal of completing both high school and college, while simultaneously being exposed to hands-on work experiences. This infographic describes the model and introduces MDRC’s evaluation of it.

Brief

A Case Study of Lorain County Community College’s Comprehensive Student Success Program

December, 2018
Camielle Headlam

In 2014, Lorain County Community College launched Students Accelerating in Learning (SAIL), a comprehensive student success program that is substantially improving persistence and graduation rates among low-income students. This brief describes the steps Lorain took to fund and institutionalize SAIL that are now making it easier to sustain the program.

Working Paper
October, 2018
Michael J. Weiss, Camielle Headlam

This paper reports outcomes for community college students who took modularized, self-paced, computer-assisted, remedial math courses with outcomes of students who took “traditional” (that is, mostly lecture-based) classes. Modularized courses were no more (or less) effective than traditional courses at helping students complete their developmental math requirements.

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