Evaluating Innovations for Improving College and Career Readiness in Rural Schools
Mokher, Christine G.; Lee, Steve; Sun, Christopher (2019). Research in the Schools, v26 n1 p48-63 Spr 2019. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1245975
-
examining20,764Students, grades9-PS
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: April 2024
- Practice Guide (findings for Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program)
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a cluster quasi-experimental design that provides evidence of effects on individuals by satisfying the baseline equivalence requirement for the individuals 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 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
ACT Composite |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students who received the intervention in grades 9-12;
|
19.70 |
19.70 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
ACT Composite |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Students who received the intervention in grades 10-12;
|
19.90 |
19.60 |
Yes |
|
||
|
ACT Composite |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
-1 Years |
Students who received the intervention in grades 9-11;
|
18.94 |
19.02 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Enrolled in college |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
6 Months |
Students who received the intervention in grades 9-12;
|
64.60 |
60.60 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Enrolled in college |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
6 Months |
Students who received the intervention in grade 12;
|
60.10 |
55.50 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Enrolled in college |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
6 Months |
Students who received the intervention in grades 10-12;
|
57.70 |
54.30 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Enrolled in college |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
6 Months |
Students who received the intervention in grades 11-12;
|
58.60 |
56.30 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Scored 3 or higher on any Advanced Placement (AP) exam |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
0 Years |
Students who received the intervention in grades 9-12;
|
11.10 |
8.70 |
Yes |
|
|
|
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Scored 3 or higher on any Advanced Placement (AP) exam |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
0 Years |
Students who received the intervention in grades 10-12;
|
10.30 |
8.80 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Scored 3 or higher on any Advanced Placement (AP) exam |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
0 Years |
Students who received the intervention in grades 11-12;
|
9.60 |
8.70 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Enrolled in college for two consecutive years after high school |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Students who received the intervention in grades 10-12;
|
40.60 |
37.90 |
Yes |
|
|
|
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Enrolled in college for two consecutive years after high school |
Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Students who received the intervention in grades 11-12;
|
42.50 |
39.50 |
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.
-
1% English language learners -
Female: 48%
Male: 52% -
Rural
-
- B
- A
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- I
- H
- J
- K
- L
- P
- M
- N
- O
- Q
- R
- S
- V
- U
- T
- W
- X
- Z
- Y
- a
- h
- i
- b
- d
- e
- f
- c
- g
- j
- k
- l
- m
- n
- o
- p
- q
- r
- s
- t
- u
- v
- x
- w
- y
Tennessee
-
Race Other or unknown 5% White 95% -
Ethnicity Other or unknown 100% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) 54% No FRPL 46%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in 58 public high schools in Tennessee. Intervention schools were located in rural Northeastern Tennessee. Comparison schools were drawn from across the state of Tennessee.
Study sample
A total of 20,764 students who were exposed to the intervention in grade 9 or 10 through grade 12 were included in the study. The study does not provide demographic information for the students in the study sample. However, in the year prior to the intervention, approximately 52% of the students within study schools were male, 55% were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 1% were English learners, and 7% had an Individualized Education Plan. Ninety-five percent of the students were White, and about 5% were another race. The ethnicity of the students was not reported.
Intervention Group
The Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium schoolwide career and college readiness program aimed to improve students’ college readiness, college enrollment and persistence, and career readiness. College and career counselors, each responsible for advising students at approximately 4 high schools, supported students to prepare for the ACT test, take online courses, apply to college, and complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The counselors also supported on-site and virtual college visits and collaborated with educators, community members and parents to promote a college-going culture at the high schools. In addition to the counselors, a learning resources team worked with school staff to improve opportunities and access to AP courses, dual enrollment, distance learning, career and technical education, and STEM instruction. The learning resources team also supported professional development for educators, including training and networking across schools through an online collaborative community, and encouraged the use of ACT preparation software. The counselors and learning resources team were employed by the Consortium and supported by a leadership team that included senior leadership at the Consortium and the Niswonger Foundation, which developed the intervention. Depending on their grade level at the start of the study, students received 1 to 4 years of the intervention during the study.
Comparison Group
Comparison group schools did not offer the Northeast Tennessee Career and College Readiness Consortium college and career readiness program. Students in the comparison group received business-as-usual career and college readiness services offered in high schools.
Support for implementation
An advisory board drawn from stakeholder institutions such as school districts, partner colleges, the Tennessee Department of Education, and the external evaluation team provided support and guidance to Consortium leadership on program implementation.
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.
-
Mokher, Christine G.; Lee, Steve; Sun, Christopher. (2016). Final Findings from Impact and Implementation Analyses of the Northeast Tennessee College and Career Ready Consortium. CNA Corporation.
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).