The power of coaching: Interim report on the impact of Success Boston’s transition coaching on college success
Linkow, T., Gamse, B., Unlu, F., Bumgarner, E., Didriksen, H., Furey, J., Meneses, M., Sami, M., & Nichols, A. (2017). Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates. Retrieved from https://www.tbf.org/-/media/tbforg/files/reports/ sb-317-interim-outcomes-report-final.pdf.
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examining2,512Students, grades12-PS
Success Boston Coaching Intervention Report - Supporting Postsecondary Success
Review Details
Reviewed: September 2020
- 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.
Please see the WWC summary of evidence for Success Boston Coaching.
Findings
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) |
Success Boston Coaching vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
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2.45 |
2.26 |
Yes |
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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College persistence - enrolled in a second year of higher education |
Success Boston Coaching vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
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83.00 |
75.00 |
Yes |
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| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
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College persistence - enrolled in a third year of higher education |
Success Boston Coaching vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Full sample;
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75.00 |
62.00 |
Yes |
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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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15% English language learners -
Female: 61%
Male: 39% -
Suburban, Urban
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Massachusetts
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Race Asian 12% Black 42% Other or unknown 38% White 8% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 37% Not Hispanic or Latino 63%
Study Details
Setting
Success Boston Coaching was implemented in the Boston, Massachusetts metro area. Partners included The Boston Foundation, the City of Boston, Boston Public Schools, the University of Massachusetts Boston, Bunker Hill Community College, other regional colleges and universities, uAspire, the Boston Private Industry Council, and other local nonprofit organizations. During the 2013–14 and 2014–15 academic years, students received coaching from seven nonprofit organizations: American Student Assistance, Boston Private Industry Council, Bottom Line, Freedom House, Hyde Square Task Force, Sociedad Latina, and West End House. A national nonprofit organization, uAspire, delivered financial aid advising to students and professional development for coaches. Students attended nine partner colleges: Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, Bridgewater State University, Bunker Hill Community College, Massachusetts Bay Community College, Northeastern University, Roxbury Community College, Salem State University, Suffolk University, and University of Massachusetts Boston.
Study sample
The study sample was comprised of 42 percent African-American students, 38 percent Hispanic students, 12 percent Asian students, and eight percent White students. Sixty-one percent of the study sample was female, 15 percent were English learners, 10 percent had an Individualized Education Plan, and 85 percent received free or reduced price lunch.
Intervention Group
Students in Success Boston Coaching began receiving one-on-one coaching from experienced counselors starting as early as the end of high school and continuing through the first two years of college. Coaching was available on demand to help students navigate the college process while developing their sense of agency, autonomy, and independence. The coaching was designed to develop students' life, study, help-seeking, and academic skills and helped students hone their relationship, goal setting, and networking skills. Job and career mentoring were also provided. Coaching activities began after high school graduation for 92 percent of students.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group did not participate in Success Boston Coaching but were eligible to receive traditional counseling services while in high school and college.
Support for implementation
The Boston Foundation oversaw the Success Boston Coaching network that facilitates communication across the initiative. The network also provided coaches access to specialized training about financial aid from uAspire, a national nonprofit organization, as well as access to training on other topics.
Additional Sources
In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.
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Linkow, Tamara; Gamse, Beth; Unlu, Fatih; Bumgarner, Erin; Didriksen, Hayley; Furey, Jane; Meneses, Michael; Sami, Mona; Nichols, Austin. (2017). The Power of Coaching: Highlights from the Interim Report on the Impact of Success Boston's Transition Coaching on College Success. Abt Associates.
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Linkow, T., Dadisman, K. Gamse, B., Didriksen, H., Schwartz, G., Hillard, M., & Karuu, M. (2015). Degrees of coaching: Success Boston’s transition coaching model – Implementation of Success Boston Coaching 2014-15. Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates.
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).