Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Davis, E. (2018). Developmental students' persistence towards graduation in paired coursework programs among African American and Latino males in community colleges. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of accelerated paired courses on male African American and Latino students’ academic persistence.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of students who completed paired coursework to students who did not. The author examined enrollment and course completion using college administrative records.
- The study found that students who completed paired coursework were significantly more likely to enroll in college the following semester than students in the comparison group.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the author did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the paired coursework; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Accelerated paired courses
Features of the Intervention
The community college system in Houston, Texas implemented two types of accelerated paired courses designed to increase the rate of developmental course completion. Accelerated course pairing allowed students to complete the developmental course while also completing the college-level version of the course (paired course). Mainstream ‘paired with support’ allowed students to complete the college-level course while also completing a developmental support course (such as a mandatory class or a lab session) or other learning supports. The college system was interested in assessing an accelerated approach for their male, African American, and Latino students to increase their rate of completing developmental coursework. Accordingly, the participants in the study were all male, African Americans or Latinos, who were referred for developmental education in their first or second year.
Features of the Study
The study took place at six campuses in the Houston community college system. The author used a nonexperimental design to assess the impact of paired coursework on academic persistence (defined as re-enrollment in the spring semester). Study participants included 102 students enrolled in paired coursework (treatment group), and 817 students enrolled only in the traditional developmental course (comparison group). College administrative records provided data on academic outcomes, including completion of the initial developmental course and enrollment in the subsequent course in the following semester. The author compared outcomes between the treatment and comparison groups, but did not control for any student characteristics.
Findings
Education and skills gain
- The study found a significant relationship between paired coursework enrollment and academic persistence with 79% of students enrolled in paired coursework re-enrolling in the spring semester compared to 68% students in the traditional developmental course.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The author did not account for preexisting differences between the groups before intervention participation. These preexisting differences between the groups—and not the paired coursework—could explain the observed differences in outcomes.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the author did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to paired coursework; other factors are likely to have contributed.