Reporting for Duty

There’s always a long list of reports you could be reading, but here’s a few we think are worth downloading. C’mon—you’ve at least got time for the executive summary!

• Our colleagues here at MDC have just released a report examining the recent experiences of community colleges across the United States that are implementing the Center for Working Families (CWF) approach to help low-income families attain financial stability and move up the economic ladder. The approach combines what community colleges do so well—provide individuals with training that connects them to dynamic careers—with the financial support necessary to complete education and connect with a career path. “Center for Working Families at Community Colleges: Clearing the Financial Barriers to Student Success” takes a closer look at the emerging CWF Community College learning network and shows how the individual colleges provide their CWF services, whom they seek to serve, how the CWF fits and adapts within local college contexts, what outcomes they are accomplishing, and provides the answers to other key learning questions.

• The Lumina Foundation and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) share lessons learned from their "Non-traditional No More" project in “Going the Distance in Adult College Completion: Lessons from the Non-traditional No More Project.” The report includes suggestions for improving policies and practices that will increase college completion among adults who have earned college credits but did not graduate. 

• MDRC has two new evaluations focused on developmental education at community colleges. “What Can a Multifaceted Program Do for Community College Students?  Early Results from an Evaluation of Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) for Developmental Education Students” looks at preliminary results from the ASAP program at three CUNY community colleges. “Bridging the Gap: An Impact Study of Eight Developmental Summer Bridge Programs in Texas” reports findings about student outcomes for eight Texas community colleges, including two DEI colleges, El Paso Community College and South Texas College.

• The Center for Law and Social Policy recently released a summary of a jointly sponsored national survey of adult education state directors conducted during February 2012. “Sinking or Swimming: Findings from a Survey of State Adult Education Tuition and Financing Policies” digs into the policies that govern the way adult education is funded, including the costs borne by local districts, community colleges, and other providers and by the states, the federal government, and students.

• Jack Rotman, over at Developmental Math Revival, has been sharing a thoughtful exploration and critique of recent developmental ed press and research.

Hot Off the Presses!

Back in the early days of Accelerating Achievement, we featured a guest post from Julian Alssid of the Workforce Strategy Center (WSC) outlining their response to giving lower-skill/lower-wage workers the boost they need to get the educational credentials necessary for higher-skill/higher-wage jobs. This week, WSC released a new report, What Works: BridgeConnect Stories from the Field, that showcases for successful programs that help low-income adults connect to postsecondary credentials. From the WSC release:

This report breaks new ground for WSC in that it features numerous video clips of practitioners and participants, who share first-hand the positive impacts of these programs. Viewers can see powerful examples of how these programs-- in North Carolina, Chicago, and New York City-- move people from hopelessness to stable employment.

WSC has also scheduled an interactive webinar on November 15th for practitioners interested in learning more about these programs. Check it out!

Guest Post: Where the Innovators Lie

Although the amount of food consumed this past holiday season might prove otherwise, sometimes you can’t get too much of a good thing…like this new Developmental Education Initiative blog.

This blog is the right thing at the right time, and adds another welcome element to a sea change that is reshaping the entire landscape of career pathways and developmental education. One of the greatest challenges to our economy today is giving lower-wage/lower-skill/lower-educated workers the boost they need to attain the educational credentials to qualify for higher-skill/higherwage jobs. This is a role for developmental education and other bridge programs.

Too often, in the past, such educational programs have been criticized as ineffective and, at times, even worse. But as the national movement to improve college completion shows, many educators have gotten the message and are changing the face of bridge education.

And there is evidence that really good things are happening and making a difference. We at Workforce Strategy Center, with the generous support of The Joyce Foundation, this summer completed BridgeConnect, the first national survey of bridge programs. The full report is available on the Resources section of the DEI website under “Curricular and Instructional Revisions”. Among the survey findings based on reporting from 515 programs in 47 states and the District of Columbia:

• Over 67% of the students who enter the programs go on to higher training
• Over 50% are ready for college-level courses.

One of the most interesting findings was that virtually everybody in the field wanted to know more about what others are doing. So many seem to feel that they have been fighting the good fight alone. Social media such as this blog can change that. It will allow us to share best practices and lessons learned.

This battle to educate our workforce is too important for anyone to fight alone. And thankfully, it turns out, there are a lot of innovators out there already eager to share their experiences. Change is not coming. It is here. And information-sharing blogs like this can only help us get where we need to go.

Julian L. Alssid is the Executive Director of the Workforce Strategy Center.

A DEI Bridge Program
One of the DEI institutions that is innovating on the bridge program front is North Central State College in Mansfield, Ohio. NC State’s Solutions adult transition program is a collaborative effort involving the college, Mansfield City Schools Adult Basic Literacy Education, and Richland County Job and Family Services. This unique program is integrated within the Tutoring Resource Center at North Central State College. The Solutions program provides self-paced, individualized instruction for students who have tested into developmental education at NC State College. Participation in Solutions is mandatory for students with COMPASS Reading scores of 59 or below, and is strongly recommended for those who place two levels down in writing or three levels down in mathematics.

89% of Solutions participants improve at least one developmental level in at least one subject before transitioning to college classes, and 92% subsequently pass the higher- level class they have tested into. Students who complete Solutions and then transition to college consistently outperform their non-Solutions counterparts on success metrics such as developmental course completion, gateway course completion, and persistence.