Lessons Learned from the California Acceleration Project

8/13/2019 Lessons Learned from the California Acceleration Project

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The Problem: High Attritionin Remedial Sequences


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The Promise of Acceleration Data from established accelerated models show

dramatic gains in student completion of collegeEnglish/Math when curricula are redesigned tosave students one or more terms of remediation English: Chabot College, Las Positas College,

the Community College of Baltimore County

Math: Los Medanos College


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A Statewide Movement

More than 100 CA community colleges have participatedin CAP acceleration workshops hosted by 3CSN

42 colleges are now piloting accelerated courses as partof 3CSN s CAP Community of Practice, participating inthree in-person workshops, ongoing coaching, and alarge peer-to-peer network (applications available inearly spring for the 2014-15 cycle)

CAP website with resources to support collegesimplementing acceleration received more than 10,000unique visits in 18 months http://cap.3csn.org
http://cap.3csn.org/http://cap.3csn.org/


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Overview of session

Illustrations of pedagogical changesfaculty make as they shift to acceleration

Findings from a new fiscal tool forcomparing the costs of accelerated mathpathways and traditional remedial curricula

Early findings from an RP study of studentcompletion in CAP accelerated pilots


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CAP Principles for Curricular Redesign

Increasing completion of college-level English and Mathrequires shorter developmental pathways and broader accessto college-level courses.

We must reduce our reliance on high-stakes placement tests,which are poor predictors of student capacity.

Streamlined developmental curricula should reflect five keyprinciples:

Backward design from college-level courses Relevant, thinking-oriented curriculum Just-in-time remediation Low-stakes, collaborative practice Intentional support for students affective needs


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Reading/Writing Away from Traditional remediation front-loads sub-skills, onthe assumption that before students can do a morecomplex task, they must have mastery of itscomponent parts:

In reading: workbook exercises on recognizing mainideas, building vocabulary

In writing: grammar exercises before paragraph writing,personal essays before text-based essays


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Toward

In English, accelerated pedagogy givesunder-prepared students experience with

college-level reading, reasoning, and writing,with more in-class scaffolding and supportthan in a regular college course. Sub-skillsin reading and writing are addressed asneeded in the context of the morechallenging work.


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From Deceleration to Acceleration: An Illustration


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Typical Changesto Pedagogy

More reading assigned, more challenging texts More class time spent discussing and writing

about readings, less on grammar instruction Readings used not just as models of writing,

but as content for students own papers Writing assignments not simply about personal

experience students write academic essays;paraphrase, quote, synthesize texts; and usecritical thinking to answer higher-order questions


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Insights from CAP faculty

In the non-accelerated classroom, I think I focused moreon teaching students to eliminate the superficial errors, sostudents in that class ended up producing a prettier assignment; however, their writing did not illustratecomplexity of thought.This was partly due to the formulaicnature of the assignments I used to give (topic sentenceshould look like this and be placed here, supporting detailsshould go here, etc.) and mostly due to the lack ofopportunity for critical thinking in my previous assignments.

Summer Serpas, Irvine Valley College


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Insights from CAP faculty

With the right support, students are capable of doinggreat academic work! They don t need to start with asimple paragraph. They can write complex essays from

the start. -Anonymous faculty reflection

Teaching accelerated courses has changed my outlookon student capacity. I learned to trust in students abilityto handle challenges and tackle meaningful academicwork.

- Caroline Minkowski, City College SF


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Math

Away fromOne long developmental math pathway for allstudents.

Toward A short pathway with remediation aligned withstudent s field of study. For students in areasthat are not math-intensive, align remediationwith general education requirements, such asStatistics.


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Away fromdecontextualized algebra, mimicry ofsymbolic procedures and template word problems

An apple falling from a tree is h feet above the ground t seconds after itbegins to fall, where h=64-16t^2 . How long does it take the apple to hit theground?

Toward data analysis and decision -making in the face ofuncertaintyWhat factors correlate with low birth weights? Use graphs and conditionalpercentages to investigate the relationship between one of the factors inthe data set and low birth weight. Present your results in 500 words or less,

include relevant graphs and calculations.

Data set: Birth weights and 6 qualitative factors from a Massachusettsstudy of 189 pregnant women.


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Changes to Math Pedagogy: An Illustration


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Student Reflections

It was developing my critical thinking. Not just looking at a formula andlearning how to solve it you know , where does this go, what are therules .It s more about evaluating, it s more about the analysisIt s more aboutunderstanding how to make a conclusion about the data set.

Describing her instructor s approach to the class: It s kind of like You dig inand get your hands dirty, however you feel you need to, and I m here for you tohelp clarify, to help understand, help get you along better. I like that. It s morelike the instructor is a facilitator, as opposed to, I m spewing out all thisinformation that I need you to regurgitate on an exam .

-Accelerated Pre-Statistics Students at College of the Canyons


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Faculty Reflections

I go to the board, and I start to lecture, and it kills the magic in theroom.They re not enthusiastic, they re not paying attention, they re looking attheir cell phones.I figure, If I just explain at bit more, it ll be ok . But the more Itried to front-load, the worse it got. And then this kid in the class comes upafter.and he goes, Now Terrie, I ve noticed that your pedagogical practiceshave been about us discovering what we need, and I think what happenedtoday is that you failed to trust the process.

-Terrie Nichols, Math Instructor, Cuyamaca

I kind of started getting into this mindset, Well, if they don t care, I can t make

them care I really just thought it was laziness. Now I realizeit s just thatstudents are intimidated. They don t want to act like they care because thenthey would be failures if they didn t succeed.

-Evelyn Ngo, Math Instructor, College of the Canyons


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Intentional Support forStudents Affective Needs

Student fears and fixed mindsets are two of thebiggest challenges to overcome in high-challenge accelerated classes. The College Fear Factor by Rebecca Cox

Many community college students fear that they re not cut outfor college and cope with this fear by withdrawing and/oravoiding assessment (e.g., not take tests, not turn in papers)

Brainology by Carol DweckWhether students have a fixed or growth mindset about theirown intelligence strongly influences their academicperformance, especially their response to challenging tasks


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Intentional Support forStudents Affective Needs

CAP faculty are finding that these two resourcesare powerful tools for helping students be moreaware of themselves as learners.

Video: Accelerated English and Math studentsrespond to Carol Dweck s work on mindsets
http://cap.3csn.org/2012/10/08/accelerated-english-math-students-on-carol-dwecks-mindsets/http://cap.3csn.org/2012/10/08/accelerated-english-math-students-on-carol-dwecks-mindsets/http://cap.3csn.org/2012/10/08/accelerated-english-math-students-on-carol-dwecks-mindsets/http://cap.3csn.org/2012/10/08/accelerated-english-math-students-on-carol-dwecks-mindsets/http://cap.3csn.org/2012/10/08/accelerated-english-math-students-on-carol-dwecks-mindsets/http://cap.3csn.org/2012/10/08/accelerated-english-math-students-on-carol-dwecks-mindsets/http://cap.3csn.org/2012/10/08/accelerated-english-math-students-on-carol-dwecks-mindsets/http://cap.3csn.org/2012/10/08/accelerated-english-math-students-on-carol-dwecks-mindsets/


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What are we learning about the costs ofaccelerated pathways?

Dr. Robert Johnstone

The Fiscal Implications of Accelerated Math Pathways


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www.inquiry2improvement.com

The California AccelerationProject: Using a Cost Efficiency

Model to Investigate KeyOutcomes and Fiscal

Considerations

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Dr. Rob JohnstoneStrengthening Student Success Conference

Burlingame, CAOctober 10, 2013


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Overview of Key Outcomes ofthe Model


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www.inquiry2improvement.com National Center for Inquiry & Improvement

At the end of the day

Most importantly and it s reallyimportant not to forget this the

bottom line is that CAP works.Significantly more students achievesuccess in transfer level courses

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http://www.inquiry2improvement.com/http://www.inquiry2improvement.com/


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Key Fiscal Outcomes

NCII was commissioned to model the impact ofCAP on a range of fiscal outcomes, including:

Cost per completer

Cost of the pre-transfer sequence Cost of the entire mathematics pathway

Ratio of instructional cost in pre-transfer courses

Student tuition & book savings Student wage gains

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Summary of Findings

When the model was applied to real-world datafrom the seven initial CAP colleges, we found that:

CAP significantly increases student completion oftransferable math courses see Terrence / Craig spresentation for specifics CAP significantly lowers cost per completer

CAP reduces the cost of remediation and allows dollarsto be reallocated to transferable courses

CAP results in a significant decrease in student tuition /books costs and an increase in wage gains by helpingstudents complete sooner

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Customized Model fromCuyamaca

C C ll


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Cuyamaca CollegeAssumptions / Model Inputs

Summary of assumptions for Cuyamaca Model: # of students at scale: 678 % attempting to pass transfer-level course, non-STEM: 83% Placement distribution (Pre/Beg/Int/Trans): 23/36/31/10 Instructional Cost per Unit: $3,738 (FT), $1,358 (PT) FT / PT Faculty Ratios: Pre-Transfer Traditional: 28% FT / 72%PT, Transfer Traditional: 47%/53%, CAP: 50%/50% Average class size: 38 for all three Avg. attempts: 1.05 / 1.25 / 1.25 / 1.50 Trad; 1.10 / 1.20 CAP Cohort Success Rates - Blended Average from Basic SkillsProgress Tracker: Success through transfer level 10% (Pre),14% (Beg), 29% (Int), 80% (Trans)

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College-based Outcomes,Cuyamaca College

Outcome Traditional CAP Improvement

1. Blended Entering Cohort Completion Rate ofTransfer-Level Math Course

22% 50% 127%

2. Total cost of Pathway, Including Transfer Course $264,766 $289,796 -9%

3. Cost of Pre-Transfer Math Courses in Pathway $193,710 $149,426 23%

4. Cost per Completer of Transfer-Level Math Course $1,934 $831 57%

5. Percentage of Cost in Pre-Transfer Math Courses 73% 52% 30%


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Reflections & Next Steps


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Summary

Model shows significant improvements in: Cost per completer Cost of pre-transfer math % of cost in pre-transfer math Student tuition & book savings

Student wage gains Absolute cost of the pathway roughly the same

Again without considering revenue from FTES Model can be customized for use at any college

BOTTOM LINE STILL: The actual improvement instudent s achievement of transfer- level math success

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Find Out More

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The National Center for Inquiry & Improvementwebsite (Coming Soon)www.inquiry2improvement.com

Dr. Rob Johnstone, Founder & [email protected]

CAP Cost Efficiency Model White Paper (comingsoon)


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How are students performing in theaccelerated English and math

courses across the state?Early data from an RP Group outcomesevaluation of colleges that began piloting

accelerated courses with CAP in 2011-12


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Participating Colleges (F11-Su12)

0 10 20 30 40

NuMu

LambdaKappa

IotaOmegaEpsilon

ThetaZeta

Eta

PiGamma

DeltaBeta

Alpha

Accelerated section count by collegepseudonym

EnglishMath

CAP Evaluation Preliminary Results, SSSC October 2013


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Method Accelerated studentscompared to traditionalEquated on placement level

First time in disciplineOutcome is passing therelevant transfer-levelgatekeeper courseMultivariate model includestime, placement,acceleration



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Accelerated English & Math Students



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Accelerated Students



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A series of hoops

Requirement Samplesize:

English

Samplesize:Math

All acceleratedstudents in timeframe

1,994(100%) 881 (100%)

with assessment

scores

1,608 (81%) 503 (57%)

and with no priorcourse in thediscipline

1,016 (51%) 333 (38%)



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Assessment results:a primary control

95%

83% 83%78% 78% 77%

15%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Alpha Epsilon Beta Gamma Zeta Iota Pi

Assessment match rate by college:English



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Assessment results:a primary control

75% 74% 73%

62% 62% 59%

0%

10%20%

30%

40%

50%60%

70%

80%

Mu Alpha Eta Theta Delta Lambda

Assessment match rate by college:Math



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Highest placement ofaccelerated English students

1%

13%

39%

11%

35%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%30%

35%

40%

45%

Transfer level

One levelbelow

Two levelsbelow

Threelevelsbelow

Four levelsbelow

Placement of accelerated English students



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Highest placement of

accelerated math students

2%

14%

38%

27%

19%

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%

35%40%

Transfer level

One levelbelow

Two levelsbelow

Threelevelsbelow

Four levelsbelow

Placement of accelerated math students



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Outcomes



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Cohort Completion Rate byPlacement Level: English



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Cohort Completion Rate by

Placement Level: Math



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Multivariate model

confirmation A logistic regression was run for each of the sixcolleges in the CAP English analysis fileModel considered the individual and combinedassociations of time, placement, andacceleration for first-time English takers

Higher average cohort completion for:Earlier cohortsStudents with higher placementsStudents in accelerated courses



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DemographicsW H O I S B E I N G AC C E L E R AT E D ?



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Ethnicity

15%

9%

54%

46%

12%

25%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Accelerated Traditional

Asian African AmericanFilipinoHispanicMultiNative AmericanPacific Islander

White



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CaveatsStill early in the analysis processData issues kept four colleges out of analysis

For the four levels below group, it is too soon toconclude that acceleration doesn t work Simpson s paradox may be at play

Significant effects of acceleration found

Variations among colleges appear to bemeaningful, still being assessed



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Next research stepsBring accelerated and comparison studentswith prior course-taking into the model

Additional control variablesImprove assessment data match rateDevelop overall hierarchical model to accountfor college-level variation



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What Have We Learned

Changes to curricular structure are being supported bychanges to pedagogy in accelerated classes

In a partial analysis of the first year of CAP pilot colleges,

student completion of transfer-level English and math hasincreased significantly. Variation in completion rates atindividual colleges points to potentially significantimplementation considerations.

Financially, accelerated math pathways reduce remediationcosts, enable colleges to reallocate resources to transferablecourses, and benefit students through reduced book/tuitionexpenses and wage increases from expedited completion.


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Next Steps

Recruiting colleges for 2014-15 Applications for the Community of Practice in Accelerationwill be available on the CAP website in early spring

Addressing policy-level challenges of UC/CSUarticulation for accelerated math pathways Near-term, community colleges use Title 5-mandated pre-

requisite challenge processes to offer alternative math pathways Long-term, community college system needs to work with

CSU/UC to re-examine the Intermediate Algebra pre-requisitepolicy for Statistics and Liberal Arts math and make space forpromising pathway innovations


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Join us!

One-day regional workshops: November 15, Fresno (Central Valley) February 7, Chabot College (Bay Area) March 7, West LA College (Greater LA)

More information on all of today s session will beavailable through the CAP website in the coming

months: http://cap.3csn.org [email protected] , [email protected]
http://cap.3csn.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://cap.3csn.org/


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The California Acceleration Project is supported by theCalifornia Community Colleges Success Network (3CSN),

through a professional development grant from the stateChancellor s Office s Basic Skills Initiative. Additionalsupport has been provided by the Walter S. JohnsonFoundation, LearningWorks, and the Scaling Innovation project of the Community College Research Center, fundedby the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Lessons Learned from the California Acceleration Project

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