Taking math remediation at the same time as statistics helps community college students succeed

By Claire Shin, Johns Hopkins University

Although an Associate’s degree has been shown to increase graduates’ earnings and job security, many community college students struggle to graduate. About 66% of community college students are mandated to take remedial classes, and 60% of the remedial courses required are for math. Remedial courses usually do not earn college credit, meaning students take longer to complete their education. A longer pathway increases the chances that students will not finish their degree, leading to lower earning potential for those who dropped out than for those who finished their degree.

A recent study described the results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), testing the benefits of a new program assigning students at risk of math challenges to additional support at the same time that they were taking statistics in their first year of community college. Several programs experimenting with this kind of corequisite support have provided students with background knowledge and instruction while students are also taking credit-bearing college courses. The RCT included 907 community college freshmen who were diagnosed as needing math remediation in 2013. Participation increased the likelihood of students earning an associate’s degree within 3 years by 50% (p = .02), and a bachelor’s degree within 5 years by 100%. Students who participated in this new program were also earning about $3,000 to $4,500 more 5-7 years after the program than those who did not participate in the program.

Still, even with these increases in graduation rates, only 25.9% of students participating in this corequisite math support program earned an associate’s degree within 3 years and 13.5% earned a bachelor’s degree within 5 years. More research should build on this finding to uncover additional supports that can help more community college students earn degrees within fewer years.

Financial and academic support increase community college graduation rates

Community colleges serve 40% of all college students, yet historically two-thirds of these students neither graduate nor transfer to four-year colleges. To increase graduation rates, some community colleges have implemented student support programs. MDRC has released a report on a randomized evaluation of one such model, the Accelerated Study in Associates Program (ASAP). Originally developed at the City University of New York, MDRC implemented the program in 3 of Ohio’s 23 community colleges to see if CUNY’s successful findings would replicate.

ASAP provides students with financial and academic support, and students must commit to full-time attendance and to program participation. Following recruiting efforts starting in 2015, during the course of three years, 1,501 students agreed to be randomly assigned to the Ohio demonstration (n=806) or to a control group (n=695). Students were eligible for the study if they were from low-income backgrounds, were full-time degree-seekers of programs that could be completed in three years, were newly enrolled, or had earned less than 24 credits. Those in the Ohio demonstration received support services including advising, tutoring, and career counseling; tuition waivers; free textbooks; and a first-year seminar encompassing success skills such as note-taking and study strategies. The control group received typical college services.

At the end of three years, 35% of students in the Ohio ASAP demonstration received degrees vs. 19% of control students. In addition, while students in both groups transferred to four-year colleges, more students in the experimental group transferred (18%) than those in the control group (12%). Finally, while some students in both groups did drop out, more experimental students remained enrolled (68%) than control students (58%). The authors note that these findings demonstrate that community college graduation rates can increase when students are given financial and academic support.

No evidence of impact for a modularization and self-paced computer-assisted approach to college math

One of the greatest challenges facing community colleges in the U.S. is that most students’ math skills are below college level. These students are often referred to developmental math courses, however, most students never complete the course and fail to earn a college degree.

A study published in Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness looks at whether a modularized, computer-assisted approach that allows students to move at their own pace through the developmental math course has any impact on students’ likelihood of completing the developmental math course, compared with more traditional teaching.

The findings of the randomized trial of 1,400 students found that although the program was well-implemented, there was no evidence that it was any more or less effective than traditional courses at helping students complete the developmental math course. The researchers comment that although the results are disappointing, they are important because modularization and self-paced computer-assisted approaches are popular teaching methods.