Study of Enhanced College Advising in Upward Bound: Impacts on Steps toward College. NCEE 2019-4002
Martinez, Alina; Linkow, Tamara; Miller, Hannah; Parsad, Amanda (2018). National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED588782
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examining4,443Students, grade12
Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: September 2021
- Single Study Review (findings for Enhanced College Advising)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with low cluster-level attrition and individual-level non-response.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Selectivity- applied to Baron's most competitive |
Enhanced College Advising vs. Upward Bound |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
11.00 |
7.40 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Applied to 4 or more colleges |
Enhanced College Advising vs. Upward Bound |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
53.00 |
43.70 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Completed FAFSA |
Enhanced College Advising vs. Upward Bound |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
64.60 |
60.90 |
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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Female: 64%
Male: 36% -
Rural, Suburban, Urban
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Midwest, Northeast, South, West
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Race Black 39% Other or unknown 38% White 23% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 26% Not Hispanic or Latino 74%
Study Details
Setting
The study was conduct with 194 Upward Bound projects in the United States: 98 projects were assigned to the treatment condition and 96 were assigned to the comparison condition. The Upward Bound projects participating in this study served diverse geographic locales: 49.0% City, 17.0% Suburb, 22.2% Town, and 11.9% Rural, as well as regions: 14.4% Northeast, 27.3% Midwest, 37.1% South, 19.6% West, and 1.5% Other.
Study sample
There were 98 treatment group projects serving 2,336 students and 96 comparison group projects serving 2,107 students. Across the sample of students, 64% identified as female; 38.6% as Black, non-Hispanic, 23.4% White, non-Hispanic, and 38% identified as another race. 25.8% identified as Hispanic. 87.6% indicated they were from a low-income household and 91.7% were first-generation to college. About 34.4% of treatment students had taken one more Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate course. Approximately half of students had B-level GPAs (52%) and approximately a quarter had C-level GPAs.
Intervention Group
Students in the intervention group received the "Find the Fit" intervention during their senior year of high school (School Year 2015-2016). The "Find the Fit" intervention added to the traditional Upward Bound activities by providing students with activities, exercises, and handouts about college costs, the logistics of applying to college, information about college quality, and how to grow and adapt. It also provided programmed and customized text messages two times per month from the end of the student's junior year through high school graduation with information about timelines for college applications, financial aid, and registering for college. Last, the program providing training webinars for advisors introducing them to the materials and reviewing the research base on program components so that the advisors could serve students. These three features were in addition to the traditional Upward Bound activities. Students were engaged in the intervention from the end of their junior year through the end of their senior year in high school.
Comparison Group
Upward Bound includes academic tutoring, guidance on high school course selection, college advising, college entrance exam preparation, college application assistance, federal financial aid information, assistance with completing financial aid applications, and financial literacy training for students and their families. Students participate in Upward Bound from the end of their junior year through the end of their senior year in high school.
Support for implementation
No information provided.
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.
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A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
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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).