Project Activities
The 36-month project will use data from Washington’s state longitudinal data system (SLDS) to examine subgroup differences in access to, completion of, and economic returns from postsecondary education (as measured by the Postsecondary Value Commission’s Postsecondary Value) across student subpopulations in the state. Subgroup analyses will examine patterns by student gender, race, ethnicity, income, and geographic region. The research team will also explore variation by institution type (2-year vs 4-year and public vs private) and fields of study. To ensure the best approaches are implemented, the project will include a technical advisory committee composed of a researcher from the state agency providing data, the Director of Research at WSAC, two academic researchers with postsecondary education and workforce methodological expertise, a researcher with expertise in applying the postsecondary value framework, and a quantitative expert in SLDS analyses.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The project takes place in the State of Washington.
Sample
The sample includes approximately 902,305 unique student-level observations across 11 cohorts of 9th graders in Washington State who were in grade 9 during the 2004–2005 through 2013–2014 academic years.
WSAC is charged with improving equity in education outcomes (per Executive Order 22-02) and engaging with institutions on program of study offerings (per Revised Code of Washington 28B.77.080). However, more information is needed on student enrollment in, completion of, and economic returns from postsecondary education to meet these charges.
Research design and methods
The research team will use descriptive methods and regression modeling approaches to examine differences in access to, completion of, and economic returns from postsecondary education across student subpopulations in the state. The primary source of data will be the Preschool-to-Grade 20-to-Workforce (P20W) data warehouse, Washington’s state longitudinal data system (SLDS), which houses student administrative data on students collected by institutions as part of regular business operations. The research team will obtain K–12, postsecondary, and workforce data from the P20W and supplement it with information on educational outcomes from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and National Student Clearinghouse; information on industry- and occupation-aligned fields of study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics and Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes from the U.S. Census Bureau; and state-level earnings benchmarks from the U.S. Census’s American Community Survey.
Control condition
The research team will test whether there are gender, racial, ethnic, income, regional, institution type, or field-of-study differences in enrollment in, completion of, and economic returns from postsecondary education.
Key measures
Key measures will include variables to indicate student groups such as gender, race, ethnicity, income, and geographic region. The primary academic measures are major/field of study, institution type, enrollment, and completion. The primary workforce measure is earnings.
Data analytic strategy
The primary analysis approach will be the tabulation of counts and proportions to be used to populate WSAC’s public-facing data dashboard. Each descriptive analysis will be supplemented by statistical analyses to understand whether statistically significant differences in outcomes are apparent by student subgroup. The research team will estimate logistic regression models where the dependent variable is binary (e.g., achievement of earnings parity) and multinomial logistic regression models where the dependent variable is categorical (e.g., differences in enrollment by student subgroups into the types of institutions).
State decision making
Information on postsecondary enrollment would shed light on disparities in outcomes needed to respond to the Governor’s Executive Order 22-02 to improve equity in educational outcomes by conducting a thorough analysis of the state’s data to examine differences in patterns of postsecondary access and success across student subpopulations and recommend actions to the state legislature based on the findings. Information on postsecondary completion would enable WSAC to engage with institutions on program of study offerings and the distribution of those offerings by geographic region. Information on economic returns might inform modifications to WSAC’s automated outreach to high school students to include nudges and information about fields of study in addition to nudges and information about completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
SubAwardee(s)
Products and publications
The project has a robust engagement plan to involve the feedback and input of key interest groups. This will occur through implementation of four hybrid townhall sessions geared to secure feedback through joint sense-making of the findings. The project will produce three policy briefs and one final report documenting the findings and policy implications. The release of each publication will be accompanied by strategic briefings to key policy decisionmakers. A journal article will be published at the end of the period, and data tabulations will be posted and updated as part of WSAC’s and State Board for Community and Technical Colleges’ data dashboards.
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Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
