Viktor Brenner, Ph.D.Waukesha County Technical College

The Effects of Remedial Course Offerings on Student Outcomes at

a 2-Year College.

Remedial Education at WCTC1995-2006: Program ReadinessIndividual programs set ASSET and later

COMPASS cutoff scores for program-readiness

Students entering a program below program ready levels were placed on “In Remediation” statusAllowed to take up to 12 credits towards their

program whileRemedial instruction offered as individual

or small group self-paced instruction

Problems with Program ReadinessUsed ASSET/COMPASS in a way that is not

validated Test predicts success in first-semester college

coursesASSET/COMPASS scores did NOT predict program

outcomesProgram readiness tied to programs not courses

Magnified heterogeneity of student skill levels in classrooms

Exceptions and extensions to the 12-credit rule common

Remedial offerings require a lot of self-direction

Prepared Learner InitiativeWisconsin Technical College System

Uniform “General College” remedial courses as pre-requisites for General Education

WCTC implemented remedial courses in wavesWriting, Spring 2008Reading, Fall 2008Multiple-baseline evaluation of remedial

offerings

Four-Pronged Evaluation of “General College” Remedial CoursesAre students more successful with remedial

courses?Does student success improve in “target”

courses with General College pre-requisites?

Are students in remedial courses retained?Do students in remedial courses enroll

directly in courses that have pre-requisites?Does having to take a remedial course

inhibit students from enrolling?

A Success Story

Intro to College Writing and Written Communication

Student Outcomes in Remedial Course

Writing Readiness grades were either S, NG or WD Intro College Writing is graded using full grading scale

Student Outcomes in Written Communication

Retention of Remedial Writing Students

Fall-Spring Spring-Fall

Direct Enrollment of Remedial Students into Written Communication

Fall-Spring Spring-Fall

OverviewStudents are more successful in the

General College remedial writing courseStudent success in Written Communication

returned from a drop-off to Fall 2006 levelsStudents more likely to be retained the

following termMore than twice as many students enrolled

directly in Written Communication the following termFewer unprepared students enrolled

A Less Successful Story

Intro College Reading & Study Skills for Science, Social Science and Communication

Remedial Course Success

General Education Course OutcomesIntro Ethics Economics

Intro Sociology Psychology of Human Relations

Retention of Remedial Reading Students

Fall-Spring Spring-Fall

Direct Enrollment of Remedial Reading Students in General Education

Fall-Spring Spring-Fall

Remedial Reading OutcomesStudents are less successful in Intro College

Reading & Study Skills than they were beforeNo noticeable effect on General Education

coursesStudent retention is essentially the same, but

more likely to enroll directly in Gen Eds Includes almost half of students that failed

Students (N=65) improved significantly on COMPASS re-test at the end of the courseAverage pretest of 69.5, average post-test of

80.9

What’s Going On With Reading?

Students improved in reading without being successful in the courseTop performers were

above cutoff from the start

Average post-test above cutoff for every grade

Hypothesis: domain of course broader than testNew curriculum this

SpringLooking to replace with

reading-only course

Enrollment Yield

Does having a remedial requirement reduce the likelihood of student enrollment?

Lost Before They Start?Inside Higher Ed (Jaschik 2009) report on Bailey et al

(2008)Of students 3 or more levels below college-ready, 40%

don’t enroll in the first remedial courseOnly 3-4 in 10 students complete a remedial course

sequenceWhat are the baselines?

Do remedial requirements make students less likely to start?

If so, why? Enrollment Yield: percent of students tested that

enrolled in program-level courses the next semesterNext semester: Feb1-Aug31 = Fall, Sept1-Jan31 =

Spring

Probability of Enrolling and COMPASS-Reading Score

Regression Discontinuity Calcagno (2008,

2009)Students scoring

75-81 5% more likely to enroll than students scoring 68-74

Big picture: is it different above and below 75?

What is Really Going On?Which is a better fit?•Linear: progressively less likely to enroll•Barrier: each additional requirement reduces yield

Enrollment Yield and COMPASS-Writing

Distribution of Scores Enrollment Yield by Grouped Scores

Can Someone Explain This? Students with “common” scores more likely to enroll than students with “uncommon” scores!

Linear or Barrier Model?Do remedial requirements deter enrollment, or are students that need remediation also less likely to enroll?

Requirements have Changed, Yield Patterns Have Not

Yield Patterns in Reading

SummaryPrepared Learner Initiative

Students in the new remedial courses were more likely to be retained and enroll directly in target courses

Success in the remedial course itself differed by subject

No observable difference in target course performance

Enrollment YieldSeems to fit linear pattern Introduction of hard pre-requisites has not led to a

decline in enrollment yield Interpretation: students are not less likely to enroll if they

are required to take remedial courses; students with lesser basic skills are progressively less likely to enroll

Next step: understand the frequent/infrequent score yield disparity in COMPASS-Writing

References Bailey, Thomas; Jeong, Dong Wook; & Cho, Sung-Woo (2008).

Referral, Enrollment and Completion in Developmental Education Sequences in Community Colleges. Community College Research Center Working Paper #15, available from CCRC at ccrc.tc.columbia.edu

Calcagno, Juan Carlos & Long, Bridget Terry (April 2008). “The Impact of Postsecondary Remediation Using a Regression Discontinuity Approach: Addressing Endogenous Sorting and Noncompliance. National Center for Postsecondary Research Working Paper, available online from NCPR at www.postsecondaryresearch.org

Calcagno, Juan Carlos & Long, Bridget Terry (August 2009). “Evaluating the Impact of Remedial Education in Florida Community Colleges: A Quasi-Experimental Regression Discontinuity Design.” National Center for Postsecondary Research Brief, available online from NCPR at www.postsecondaryresearch.org

Jaschik, Scott (January 19, 2009). “Lost Before They Start.” Inside Higher Ed, available online at www.insidehighered.com /news /2009/01/19/remedial

Mohn, Lavonne. Personal communication, April 19-April 21, 2010.

ContactsEmail author: vbrenner@wctc.eduCopies of this presentation:

College Advancement IR Reports: www.wctc.edu/ca >Research Reports

Under session information on the Forum Scheduler; link from http://www.airweb.org/?page=1967