The College and Career Readiness Act Evaluation: Early Findings

by Sadya Khan
 
Introduction
 
Rising remediation rates among college students are leading to increased time for completion of degree, additional costs for students and colleges, and financial aid being used on courses that do not count towards a degree. In response to these issues, in 2007 the state of Illinois passed the College and Career Readiness Act (CCR Act), Public Act 095-0694, to fund pilot projects consisting of a community college and partner high schools to support the alignment of K-12 curriculum with college level coursework, as well as better prepare students to be successful in transitioning from high school to college. The CCR Act has five main purposes: 1) Align ACT scores to community college courses to diagnose college readiness; 2) Reduce remediation through college prep courses, college readiness skills, and successful transitions; 3) Align high school and college curricula; 4) Provide resources and academic support to students; and 5) Develop an evaluation process to measure the effectiveness of readiness programs.
 
This three-year pilot study was initiated and executed by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), who granted the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) the opportunity to research and evaluate the pilot projects. This study is co-directed by Debra Bragg and Lorenzo Baber of the Department of Educational Organization and Leadership in the College of Education at UIUC. Research staff also includes Sadya Khan, project coordinator, and Jessica Barrientos and Erin Castro, research assistants. The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of the Act, as well as share some key findings from year one of the study.
 
Background
 
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2003), Condition of Education report confirms that virtually every community college in the nation offers remedial courses, and a national study by Jenkins and Boswell (2002) reveals that over half of community college students require some remedial course work. Venezia, Callan, Finney, Kirst, and Usdan (2005) confirm that K-12 systems are not well connected to colleges, resulting in many students not having the requisite skills to enter college without taking remedial coursework. Their research reflects national figures reported by NCES and other scholars, showing that almost half of entering college students are required to take remedial courses, with differences in college-going and college success (retention) being correlated with academic preparedness, income-level, race/ethnicity, and other related educational, social and economic variables. Lack of rigorous academic course work at the secondary level contributes to students’ inability to enter college ready to engage in college-level studies, sometimes referred to as “college readiness”.
Underlying the CCR Act is the assumption that both high schools and colleges are responsible for ensuring that high school students are prepared to enter college ready to learn at the college level and that they are aware of the college standards that await students. This study demonstrates the importance of examining the issues of college readiness, curriculum alignment and remediation for students, high schools, and community colleges in sites selected to pilot the CCR Act in Illinois. The CCR Act has created the opportunity for Illinois to examine and reflect upon these key educational issues and determine the potential for various strategies and approaches to better prepare high school students for college.
 
Methodology
 
The CCR pilot study consists of five community college sites: John A. Logan College, Moraine Valley Community College, Shawnee Community College, South Suburban College, and Southwestern Illinois College. The state of Illinois distributed grants to these five schools, which were used for a variety of purposes, including the hiring of new personnel and faculty members and the purchase of student incentives and classroom equipment. Ultimately, the goals of the pilot sites were to create college preparatory initiatives, improve students’ college readiness, and better align high school and college curricula in order to reduce remediation of students prior to their entering college.
OCCRL’s evaluation team conducted site visits to all five schools throughout year one. Through interviews with administrators, faculty, and students and focus groups with students, OCCRL staff gathered information to outline goals, key features, and barriers and challenges associated with the initial implementation of the CCR pilot programs. Key evaluation questions targeted issues such as collaboration among the multiple partners in the programs, the various policies and practices employed by the CCR partners (high schools, community colleges, others) in conjunction with college preparatory and orientation programs, and the role of ICCB and other local and state organizations in supporting the CCR Act.
 
Key Findings
During the first year of the grant, the pilot sites implemented a variety of strategies to address the goals of the CCR Act. Most of the community colleges set up collaborative meetings between community college faculty and administrators and high school faculty and administrators to compare common grading procedures in an effort to align standards and expectations. Some schools implemented semester long programs that offered students the chance to take courses to improve their reading, mathematics, and college study skills before entering college. Other schools offered orientations and workshops to better acclimate students to what they can expect in college. Many of the schools did a combination of these activities. These programs reached a range of students from high school sophomores to recently graduated seniors, with the most participants being at the junior level.
Other cross-case findings include:

• The community colleges relied on established partnerships with feeder high schools to promote the CCR pilot program and recruit students.
• Collaborative efforts and meetings between high school and college faculty were very rewarding and encouraging of curriculum alignment.
• High school counselors and parents were crucial to the interest, recruitment, and retention of students.
• Because ACT test scores were not accessible in the timeframe needed to place students, most sites used COMPASS testing to determine the level of remediation and college placement.
• Most sites considered the instruction in “college knowledge” an important component of the remediation program, as it provided students the chance to learn about successful studying and testing strategies, goal setting, time management, and career planning.
• Each site that offered a college preparatory (developmental) program sought ways to incorporate a tutoring component. In some cases, tutoring was built into the coursework, while other colleges offered students the chance to receive extra academic assistance outside of the classroom.
• Most pilot program sites focused on college preparatory programs in math, with only a couple of schools offering specific English courses.

 
Moving Forward
There are some key issues that will be examined as the pilot sites and OCCRL move forward into years two and three of the CCR Act. One priority will be enhancing the coordination of state-level activities with the evaluation of local pilot programs. Identifying the target student group and college preparatory program components and aligning them with student learning outcomes is important. Also, to address the intent of the CCR legislation, it is important to demonstrate the value of a sub-set of outcomes on college and career readiness and understand how these measures fit with other “pipeline” initiatives employed in the state. There must also be a greater focus on examining ways to recruit and retain students, especially after the CCR grant ends. Long-term solutions and sustainable practices that address the growing remediation problem are key as OCCRL’s evaluation moves to years two and three.
Throughout the next two years, the evaluation will seek to ascertain the impact of the CCR pilot programs on high school students’ academic preparation to enter college without needing remediation. The study will explore whether the college preparatory programs and supplemental services are effective. Do students complete the programs, and how do they perform in math, reading, and writing? Are students prepared to begin college and able to succeed in taking college level coursework? Results of the evaluation are vitally important to determining the impact and viability of future programs and practices associated with improving college and career readiness. 
 

Sadya Khan is a Research Coordinator with OCCRL. She received her Masters Degree in Education from Northwestern University and can be reached at skhan2@illinois.edu.

 
References
 
Jenkins, D., & Boswell, K. (2002). State policies on community college workforce development: Findings from a national survey. Retrieved October 31, 2008, from http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/40/82/4082.pdf

National Center for Education Statistics (2003). The condition of education. Washington, DC.

Venezia, A., Callan, P. M., Finney, J. E., Kirst, M. W., & Usdan, M. D. (2005). Betraying the college dream: How disconnected K-12 and postsecondary education systems undermine student aspirations. CA: Stanford Institute for Higher Education.