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State of ATD: March 2011Carol Lincoln

Senior Vice President, ATD

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Today’s Comments

Where ATD is, Where it is going

MDRC Interim report on experience at Round One Colleges

You are part of a “movement” and you are the change we hope to see in our institutions and in the lives of our students.

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ATD is a Growing, Vibrant Network of Innovators and Reformers

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ATD’s Brand is Strong, Potential is Significant

Well known for data driven change, culture of evidence, student success and completion mission

ATD institutions serve over 2 million students

ATD is aligned with national goals for community colleges and with goals of major foundations:

Obama: 5 million additional awards by 2020 ATD colleges could provide 20% of those awards

Lumina: 60% adults with PS credentials by 2025

Gates: double the number of 16-24 year olds with PS credentials with value in the work place

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ATD’s Post-Demonstration “Look”

ATD Inc – single-purpose organization: community college student success and completion

National location and national voice

Refine and improve services, reduce costs, steer planning teams to high impact strategies, utilize technology, re-grants to colleges

Grow ATD in high need regions and states

Explore statewide models for entry into ATD

Double down on challenges raised by MDRC/CCRC evaluation: faculty engagement, IR/IT capacity, scale, and teaching and learning – see Public Agenda series

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Leader Colleges as National Exemplars

Follow ATD’s institutional improvement model

3 years of upward trend data on one or more ATD outcome measures – see “Project Goldmine”

Applications each spring

No fee associated with Leader College Status

Benefits, privileges, responsibilities, continued improvement

3 year “requalification” requirement

50 Leader Colleges by 2013

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Platform for Testing and Spreading Innovation

15 colleges, 6 states in Developmental Education Initiative to scale effective dev ed practices/policies

13 colleges in Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s Statway/Quantway Initiative

7 colleges in Casey Foundation Center for Working Families expansion

Completion by Design

Strategy Institute is a key forum

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Exciting and Important Future

3-5 target states as proof points

135 colleges at steady state

50 leader colleges by 2013

More subsets of colleges innovating particular strategies

Grants to colleges for peer coaching/learning, scale

New strategic partnerships – e.g., Bank of America

Continuing involvement of founding partners

Stronger role for chancellors and presidents

Increased services – e.g., Trustee Institutes

Turning the Tide: Five Years of Achieving the Dream

in Community Colleges

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States and Colleges in this Evaluation

TX

PA

NM

TX

FL

VA

NC

TX

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How MDRC Measured Progress in Building a Culture of Evidence

Field visits to all 26 colleges near the beginning of their implementation grants (2006) and at the end (2009)

Review colleges’ annual progress reports

Review coach and data coach reports

Survey of college administrators and faculty

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How MDRC Examined Student Outcomes

Used colleges’ cohort data from 2002-2009

Compared trends before and after the initiative began to determine whether there was significant change

Examined major indicators of student success, such as pass rates out of developmental education and persistence

Examined all 26 colleges together – not individual institutions

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Achieving the Dream’s Five-Step Process for Institutional Change

(1) Commit

Leadership

(2) Use Data to

Prioritize Actions

(3) Engage

Stakeholders

(4) Implement and

Evaluate

(5)Establish a Culture of

Continuous Improvement

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The Bottom Line:

Most colleges made meaningful progress in building a culture of evidence

Colleges implemented many strategies to improve student success – but they were torn between “breadth” and “depth”

To date, not much movement on institution-wide measures of student success

Exceptions: Modest improvements in completion of Gateway English courses and percent of attempted courses completed

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The Colleges Implemented Nearly 200 Strategies to Improve Student Success

Student support services (e.g., advising, student success courses)

Instructional supports (e.g, tu-toring and supplemental in-struction)

Changes in classroom instruc-tion (e.g., learning communi-ties, curricular reforms)

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Colleges Reported a Tradeoff between Intensity and Scale of Interventions

High Intensity Strategies

Reached Over 10 %Reached Under 10 %

Low Intensity Strategies

Reached Over 10 %Reached Under 10 %

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2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 20070

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Entering Fall Cohort

Per

cen

tag

e o

f S

tud

ents

Post-ATD trend

Trend in Developmental English Completion – within 2 years

Pre-ATD trend

Initiative Launch

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2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 20070

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Entering Fall Cohort

Per

cen

tag

e o

f S

tud

ents

Post-ATD trend

Trend in Fall-to-Fall Persistence

Pre-ATD trend

Predicted trend absent ATD

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2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 20070

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Entering Fall Cohort

Per

cen

tag

e o

f S

tud

ents

Post-ATD trend

Trend in Gateway English Completion

Pre-ATD trend

Predicted trend absent ATD

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Achieving the Dream Set a High Bar for Judging Effectiveness

Institutional change is a gradual process

More students need to be touched by interventions to “move the needle” on institutional measures

Story is not fully written:

Two more years of follow-up at Round 1 colleges

Evaluation of Round 3 colleges in Washington State in progress

Evaluation of ATD’s 2 year and 3 year model in progress

Greatest lessons may emerge from further analysis of college variances from the average and of the experience of more recent cohorts

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Implications of the Evaluation

Achieving the Dream has served as a catalyst for institutional change – but the work is ongoing.

Bringing effective interventions to scale is the next major challenge.

Will require continuing/increased faculty and staff involvement.

Need to tackle what happens in the classroom – especially in developmental education.

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Math In-Order Course Completion and Enrollment

3+ levels below

2 levels below

1 level below

GKAlgebra

Referred to Level

3+96,653

TOTAL: 10%

Not completed 24%

Not completed 11%

Not completed 5%

Not enrolled21%

Not enrolled15%

Not enrolled7%

Not enrolled5%

• Sample: 2001-2005 cohorts, tracked for three years

Passed55%

Enrolled79%

Enrolled40%

Passed29%

Enrolled22%

Passed17%

Enrolled12%

Not completed 2%

Turning the Tide:Five Years of Achieving the Dream in

Community Colleges

Is available for download at www.mdrc.org and at www.achievingthedream.org

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