Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Panel: Removing Barriers and Improving Postsecondary Outcomes for Academically Marginal Students

(Education)

The rate of college enrollment has increased since the early 1980’s (NCES, 2013), but increases in degree attainment rates have not increased commensurately (Roderick et al, 2009). Currently, fewer than 60% of first-time, full-time students enrolling at four year colleges complete a degree within six years (NCES, 2014), and fewer than 60% of students enrolling at 2-year colleges persist beyond the first year (NCES, 2014). The changing skill demands in the labor market (Carnevale, 2010; Levy & Murnane, 2012) and the importance of educational attainment for economic prosperity and ameliorating economic inequality in the U.S. (Goldin & Katz, 2009) have made preparing high school students for postsecondary success a “national imperative” (White House, n.d.). Yet, the national average masks huge socio-demographic gaps in college access and completion. In 2007, 58% of high school graduates from low-income families enrolled in postsecondary institutions immediately after graduating high school, compared to 63% percent of students from middle-income families and 78% from high-income families (Aud et al., 2010). Even having gained access to higher education institutions, low SES and academically marginal students are less college ready and persist at lower rates than other students. Additionally, roughly one-third of students enrolling in post-secondary education are often unprepared for college-level coursework (Petrilli, 2016; Greene & Forster, 2003). Colleges attempt to rectify this lack of academic preparation through developmental coursework, a policy criticized for colleges having to teach high school courses. Using administrative data from three different states, our panel presents quasi-experimental evidence on three approaches to improving postsecondary outcomes for students on the margin. The first paper looks at the academic outcomes of an Advanced Placement course expansion seeking to improve college-preparatory and college-level coursework prior to college entry. The second paper focuses on development education in Arkansas. In particular, this paper investigates the outcomes for students qualifying for developmental education and how each campus implements the statewide policy. The third paper explores the summer learning loss and after-summer dropout at the four-year college level. It further examines the benefit of summer enrollment in college retention and degree attainment. Given the calls for increased educational attainment and the push for free community college, the results of these three studies are relevant to practitioners and policymakers intent on narrowing the achievement gap, increasing the number of college graduates, and improving policies designed to improve postsecondary outcomes for academically marginal students. Together, these studies contribute to the literature on college persistence and completion by providing quasi-experimental evidence from two- and four-year public institutions in the United States.