Improving High Schools through STEM Early College Strategies: The Impact of the STEM Early College Expansion Partnership (SECEP)
Edmunds, Julie A.; Dudley, William N.; Hutchins, Bryan C.; Arshavsky, Nina; Lewis, Karla (2019). Grantee Submission. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED604217
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examining51,620Students, grades9-12
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: July 2024
- Practice Guide (findings for STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP))
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Does not meet WWC standards because the equivalence of the clusters in the analytic intervention and comparison groups is necessary but the requirement was not satisfied.
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
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
Study sample characteristics were not reported.Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: July 2024
- Practice Guide (findings for STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP))
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Does not meet WWC standards because the measures of effectiveness cannot be attributed solely to the intervention.
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
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
Study sample characteristics were not reported.Department-funded evaluation
Review Details
Reviewed: January 2022
- Department-funded evaluation (findings for STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP))
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a cluster quasi-experimental design that provides evidence of effects on clusters by demonstrating that the analytic sample of individuals is representative of the clusters and satisfying the baseline equivalence requirement for the clusters in the analytic intervention and comparison groups.
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 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Earned any college credit |
STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Michigan only. 11th and 12th grade students only. ;
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29.76 |
17.48 |
Yes |
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|
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Average number of college credits earned |
STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Michigan only. 11th and 12th grade students only.;
|
3.53 |
1.75 |
Yes |
|
|
|
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Average number of college credits earned |
STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Michigan only. Economically disadvantaged 11th and 12th grade students.;
|
2.35 |
0.95 |
Yes |
|
||
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Percentage enrolled in any college course |
STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Michigan only. 11th grade students.;
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35.45 |
28.70 |
No |
-- | ||
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Percentage enrolled in any college course |
STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Michigan only. 12th grade students.;
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48.98 |
41.88 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Average number of college credits earned |
STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Michigan only. Black, Native American, & Hispanic or Latino 11th and 12th grade students. ;
|
1.31 |
0.78 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Percentage of students dropping out of school (annual) |
STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Michigan only. ;
|
1.63 |
1.84 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Percentage of students dropping out of school (annual) |
STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Michigan only. Economically disadvantaged. ;
|
3.54 |
2.66 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Percentage of students dropping out of school (annual) |
STEM Early College Expansion Project (SECEP) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Michigan only. Black, Native American, & Hispanic or Latino.;
|
2.41 |
2.96 |
No |
-- | ||
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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Michigan
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Race Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in four intermediate school districts in Michigan.
Study sample
The study does not provide demographic information on the student sample.
Intervention Group
The STEM Early College Expansion Partnership (SECEP) is designed to increase the number of students who graduate from high school and who are prepared for enrollment and success in STEM-focused postsecondary education. SECEP’s goal was to redesign high schools by enhancing STEM curriculum and instruction in schools while also expanding access to college courses for students. The project intended to accomplish this by supporting the implementation of the STEM Early College High School Model in comprehensive high schools. Schools were expected to implement four core components: (1) a STEM college-focused academic program, (2) student support, (3) high school-college collaboration, and (4) a culture of continuous improvement. To support these school-level changes, the intervention included coaching and technical assistance to districts, workshops and conferences, a community of practice, school-based SECEP coaching, district-level teams, and district-college collaboration.
Comparison Group
Schools in the comparison condition implemented business-as-usual. Teachers likely implemented their typical STEM curricula and received business-as-usual professional development. Students were likely exposed to instruction and support services as they had been in the past.
Support for implementation
A set of implementation support services were provided, including leadership coaching to districts, conferences and workshops, a community of practice, school-based coaching, district-level teams, and a district-college collaboration.
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.
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The mean score of students in the comparison group.
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Study findings for this report.
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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).