Advancing Careers and Training (ACT) for Healthcare in Wisconsin.
Price, D., Valentine, J., Sedlak, W., & Roberts, B. (2018). Indianapolis, Indiana: DVP-PRAXIS LTD, Philadelphia, PA: Equal Measure, and Chevy Chase, MD: Brandon Roberts and Associates.
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examining4,578Students, gradePS
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: February 2021
- Practice Guide (findings for Advancing Careers and Training for Healthcare (ACT for Healthcare))
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a quasi-experimental design in which the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Employment in First Quarter Post-Completion |
Advancing Careers and Training for Healthcare (ACT for Healthcare) vs. Business as usual |
3 Months |
Assessment of employment was limited to students who were not employed during their first term of enrollment during the study period.;
|
45.00 |
37.00 |
Yes |
|
|
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 88%
Male: 12% -
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Wisconsin
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Race Black 5% Other or unknown 13% White 82% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 6% Not Hispanic or Latino 94%
Study Details
Setting
The study was conducted in 14 community colleges in Wisconsin with students enrolled in healthcare programs. These colleges received funding under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant Program that postsecondary institutions with funds to "...expand and improve their capacity to deliver education and career training programs." (page 6).
Study sample
In the treatment group sample, approximately one-half (51%) of treatment students are aged 25 years or older, and they are predominantly female (88%) and non-Hispanic white (82%). Other races and ethnicity include 5% black, 6% Hispanic, and 7% other.
Intervention Group
The intervention group received ACT for Healthcare which provided a variety of grant-funded academic and non-academic support services to improve academic and employment outcomes for students in targeted healthcare programs. "Some of these supports were integrated into program curricula or embedded in the classroom, while others were delivered outside of class through one-on-one and group-level sessions." (p.16). Academic support was in the form of innovative instructional and curricular strategies, including 14 new credentials and new statewide courses (degrees, diplomas, or certificates). Academic supports included improved classroom instruction, tutoring, and test preparation. Participants had access to other forms of support including case management, career guidance, help with job searches and placements, and links to local job markets.
Comparison Group
The comparison students were in healthcare programs at the consortium technical colleges that were not supported by the TAACCCT grant but were enrolled during the grant period (business as usual).
Support for implementation
No support for implementation was mentioned.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).