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Examining student group differences in Arkansas indicators of postsecondary readiness and success

Region:

Southwest

Abstract:

Description: In 2021, the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest College and Career Readiness research partnership published a study on the attainment of postsecondary readiness and success outcomes among Arkansas students and the accuracy of college and career indicators during middle and high school in predicting those outcomes. The Arkansas Department of Education has requested an additional study focused on differences in college and career readiness indicators by student group. Specifically, the Arkansas Department of Education would like evidence on differences in the attainment of college and career readiness indicator threshholds and outcomes, as well as evidence on the accuracy and strength of college and career readiness indicators, for the following student groups: African American/Black and Hispanic students, male students, students with a disability designation, students eligible for the national school lunch program, English learner students, and students across different regions of the state. These supplemental findings for specific student groups will help Arkansas education leaders focus on indicators that serve all students well and minimize generalizations in the use of indicators that could inequitably affect students.

Research Questions:

  1. What are the patterns in Arkansas students' attainment of indicator thresholds and postsecondary readiness and success outcomes by the following groups: race/ethnicity, gender, English learner status, special education status, federal school lunch program eligibility, and region?
    1. To what extent does the percentage of Arkansas students who attained indicator thresholds vary by group?
    2. To what extent does the percentage of Arkansas students who attained outcomes vary by group?
  2. How accurately do the indicators predict attainment of outcomes for different student groups?
  3. How does the strength of the indicators for predicting outcomes vary by group?

Study Design: The study will use logistic regression models, which focus on subsets of students, to do the following:

  • Identify intergroup differences in indicator and outcome attainment among Arkansas students.
  • Examine differences in statistical accuracy for predicting postsecondary outcomes by student group.
  • Examine indicator strength for predicting postsecondary outcomes by student group.

The analyses will examine three outcome measures: postsecondary readiness, postsecondary enrollment success, and postsecondary persistence success. The analytic sample will include two recent annual cohorts of Arkansas public school students and use secondary and postsecondary education administrative data sources from the Arkansas Department of Education.

Projected Release Data: Summer 2022

Research Alliance: REL Southwest College and Career Readiness Research Partnership

Study Related Products: The study will produce a report and a one-page snapshot.

Principal Investigators & Affiliation:

Canadce Hester, American Institutes for Research; Valeriy Lazarev, Empirical Education