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Publications

Report

Increasing Gatekeeper Course Completion

Three-Semester Findings from an Experimental Study of Multiple Measures Assessment and Placement

December, 2021

Some students are referred into developmental (or remedial) education inappropriately when placed using only standardized placement tests. When multiple measures assessment was used, students in Minnesota and Wisconsin were more likely to enroll and pass college-level math and English courses within three semesters. The additional cost of this alternative assessment averaged $33 per student.

Issue Focus

Expanding Inclusion in STEM

Lessons from Growth Sector’s STEM Core Program

July, 2021

Millions of community college students, particularly students of color and women, don’t complete the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses critical to succeeding in the modern economy. This brief examines one program that combines increased academic support, out-of-classroom activities, accelerated coursework, and other components to help improve student outcomes.

Issue Focus

What Happens After the Program Ends?

A Synthesis of Post-Program Effects in Higher Education

March, 2021

Some education programs’ early positive effects disappear over time, while other programs have unanticipated positive long-term effects. This Issue Focus introduces The Higher Education Randomized Controlled Trials, an examination of program effects after a postsecondary education program ends, using a database drawn from 31 MDRC projects, sampling 67,400 stu­dents.

Working Paper

An On-Ramp to Student Success

A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation of a Developmental Education Reform at the City University of New York

March, 2021

CUNY Start aims to prepare students with significant remedial needs for college-level courses. This working paper reports that over three years, CUNY Start substantially increased college readiness, slightly increased credit accumulation, and modestly increased graduation rates (by increasing participation in another highly effective program).

Brief

A Better Way to Place Students

What Colleges Need to Know About Multiple Measures Assessments

February, 2021

Colleges often use standardized testing to determine whether incoming students need developmental courses. But those tests do not predict students’ college readiness accurately. This brief explains how the use of alternative multiple measures can improve placement decisions, increase college-level course pass rates, and boost progress toward graduation.

Working Paper

Increasing Community College Graduation Rates

A Synthesis of Findings on the ASAP Model from Six Colleges Across Two States

February, 2021

This paper presents new estimates of the effects of the City University of New York (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) model, evaluated first in New York and later in Ohio. It shows long-term effects in New York on degrees earned and consistent effects in both states.

Brief

Implementing and Scaling Multiple Measures Assessment in the Context of COVID-19

January, 2021

This brief from the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness, a project of the Community College Research Center and MDRC, presents four case studies on how community college state systems changed course placement policies and supported new placement practices in the midst of the pandemic.

Issue Focus

Understanding What Works in Postsecondary Education

November, 2020

A college degree remains critical to unlocking opportunity and to accessing America’s middle class, yet millions of students who pursue higher education never earn degrees. This memo, produced with Results for America, draws lessons and policy implications from two decades of rigorous research in postsecondary institutions focused on addressing this problem.

Issue Focus

Steady SAILS During the Pandemic

October, 2020

In this commentary, originally published in Community College Daily, President Marcia Ballinger of Lorain County Community College describes how Lorain’s comprehensive student success program, SAIL, has persevered during the pandemic — and offered lessons for school’s overall response to COVID-19.

Report

Who Should Take College-Level Courses?

Impact Findings From an Evaluation of a Multiple Measures Assessment Strategy

October, 2020

A random assignment evaluation at seven State University of New York campuses finds that using multiple measures assessments to determine placement in remedial education led to more students being placed in college-level courses, where they did better than their peers who were placed in remedial classes.