Cook, R., Hamadyk, J., Zeidenberg, M., Rolston, H., & Gardiner, K (2018). Abt Associates.
Reviewed: February 2021
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.
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hours of occupational training |
Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) vs. Business as usual |
18 Months |
Full sample;
|
248.42 |
227.44 |
No |
-- | |
|
Total number of credits earned |
Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) vs. Business as usual |
18 Months |
Full sample;
|
12.19 |
11.15 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Earned Credential - Any Source |
Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) vs. Business as usual |
18 Months |
Full sample;
|
32.82 |
35.87 |
No |
-- |
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
| Black | 21% | |
| White | 67% |
| Hispanic | 9% | |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 91% |
The Madison Area Technical College (MATC) operated the Patient Care Pathway (PCP) program between 2011 and 2014 in Madison Wisconsin. The Patient Care pathway program adapted and connected nine existing one-semester programs to create three patient Care Pathway academies. MATC is the primary education and training provider in the region for students interested in obtaining an associates degree, technical diploma, or certificate in the healthcare field. The PCP intervention was offered at the main campus and two regional campuses.
A majority of the study sample members (84.3%) were female, two-thirds were non-Hispanic whites, and one-quarter were 35 or older. 97% had earned a high school degree or equivalent, 53% had prior experience with college, and about one-quarter had completed at least one year. One-third of the sample received benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program) for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). About one third reported experiencing financial hardship in the past year. About two-thirds of the sample was working at least 20 hours per week at the time of random assignment. Approximately one-quarter had annual household incomes of less than $15,000, and roughly 45 percent had annual household incomes of $30,000 or higher.
The Patient Care Pathway program adapted and linked two existing healthcare bridge programs. The PCP one-semester academies provided academic and basic skills instruction to prepare students for the the college’s healthcare degree and diploma programs and advising supports to promote student success. Students could start with either Patient Care Academy 1 (PCA1) or Patient Care Academy 2 (PCA2), depending on their basic skills level, and build their skills while they acquired professional knowledge relevant for their chosen healthcare diploma or degree program. Students who completed PCA1--and scored high enough on a retest of their basic skills--could then either enroll in any of the one-year healthcare diploma programs or proceed to PCA2. Students who completed PCA2 qualified to enroll directly--without retesting--in any of the college’s two-year healthcare degree programs. Students who completed PCNA could transition to PCA1 or PCA2 or seek employment. The academies had the following components or attributes: 1) a sectoral bridge program that package occupational training and remediation of basic skills to prepare students for a specific professional field are described as sectoral bridge programs, 2) sequenced training steps that packaged particular sets of courses in each academy to provide academic preparation for and a clear pathway toward enrollment in a healthcare diploma or degree program, 3) acceleration to increase the speed of students’ entry into the college’s healthcare programs by shortening the period of remediation for applicants whose basic skills tested too low to gain admission to the Patient Care Pathway program directly, and 4) dedicated advisors to proactively and frequently reach out to their assigned students by helping them to navigate the college system and program admission process, develop an academic plan, and identify and address academic and non-academic barriers.
Control group members had access to education and other services in the community that was not exclusive to the Patient Care Pathway participants. For example, control group members could access non–Patient Care Pathway courses, tutoring, disability services, general advising, counseling, and other services available at Madison College, if they were eligible. Control group members could also enroll in the college’s healthcare diploma and degree programs, but would likely follow different paths to qualify for them (the Patient Care Pathway academies versus traditional developmental education).
No implementation support information provided. However, it should be noted that the author reported that fewer than half of the program recipients reported engaging in advising services at least three times - which was the recommended minimum dose. Also, the author reported that program participants encountered many barriers to pathway progression after completing the initial basic skills instruction step.
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).
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