Presentation for the Senate Higher Education Committee Interim Charge #3 June 24, 2010 The Student Success Agenda: All stakeholders have a responsibility To ensure the long-term educational and economic vibrancy of Texas, many stakeholders must play an equal and integral part in assuring the state meets the goals of Closing the Gaps by 2015 and beyond. Page 2 1
The Texas Success Initiative authorizes multiple assessment tests to establish student readiness against state approved cutoff scores in math, reading, and writing. There is variation across institutions in the use of assessment tools. And, state law permits institutions to establish TSI thresholds above state standards. Page 3 The state currently recognizes a number of assessment tools under TSI: Test MATH READING WRITING THEA 230 230 220 ASSET 38 41 40/6* COMPASS 39 81 59/6* ACCUPLACER 63 78 80/6* * Essay score threshold Page 4 2
State law permits institutions to set readiness standards that are higher than state standards: Assessment: THEA Institution MATH READING WRITING State Min. 230 230 220 Alvin CC 270 230 220 Blinn College 270 230 220 Assessment: ASSET Institution MATH READING WRITING State Min. 38 41 40 Tarrant County 46 41 40 Page 5 6 5 54.3% 37.4% % Not Ready in at Least One Area % Ready in All Three Areas % Unknown 8.3% 6 5 48.6% 42.2% FY 2004 Percentage of Community College Students Direct from HS by TSI Readiness Thresholds FY 2004 & FY 2009 9.2% Page 6 FY 2009 3
5 46.4% 35.6% % Not Ready in at Least One Area % Ready in All Three Areas % Unknown 6 55.6% 18.1% 5 FY 2004 Percentage of Community College Students Non- Direct from HS by TSI Readiness Thresholds FY 2004 & FY 2009 29.2% 15.2% FY 2009 Page 7 6 54.2% FY 2004 FY 2009 5 46.9% 42.2% 37.4% 33.6% 16.8% 24.0% 28.3% Community College Students, Direct from HS TSI Ready By Ethnicity, FY 2004 & FY 2009 White African Am. Hispanic All Page 8 NOTE: Includes only First-Time-in- College, Degree Seeking students 4
6 5 54.2% Non-Direct from HS Direct from HS 42.2% 37.2% 24.0% 20.5% 33.6% 23.1% 29.2% Page 9 Community College Students, Direct vs. Non-Direct from HS TSI Ready By Ethnicity, FY 2009 White African Am. Hispanic All NOTE: Includes only First-Time-in- College, Degree Seeking students 8 7 6 66.6% Distinguished Program Recommended Program 5 44.9% First-Time-In-College, Degree Seeking, Direct from HS, Community College Students TSI Ready By High School Program FY 2009 Page 10 5
Students who enter developmental education in community colleges continue to face serious barriers on their pathway to degrees and certificates. Page 11 Of the 44,930 students who failed Math TSI Standards: Only 19% attempt a college-level course in the subject Only 13% complete the course Of the 30,593 students who failed Reading TSI Standards: Only 51% attempt a college-level course in the subject Only 36% complete the course Of the 19,300 students who failed Writing TSI Standards: Only 41% attempt a college-level course in the subject Only 29% complete the course Fall 2005 Community College Cohort: First-Time-In-College, Degree Seeking Page 12 6
35,000 30,000 25,000 One-Year Persistence: First-Time-In-College, Degree Seeking Community College Students Requiring Developmental Education 2005 Cohort 20,000 15,000 55.4% 1 st Year Enrollment 2 nd Year Enrollment 67.3% 10,000 5,000 0 57.8% 58.2% DE Math DE Reading DE Writing Met TSI Page 13 6 3-year Persistence & Graduation Rates First-Time-In-College, Degree Seeking Community College Students 2005 Cohort 5 Persist Graduate 41.0% 30.8% 7.6% Students Requiring Dev. Ed. 16.1% Students Not Requiring Dev. Ed. Page 14 7
The Coordinating Board is working with community colleges to identify and scale innovation designed to fundamentally reform a system that is failing students nationwide. Reform will require institutions, students, and the state to play a pivotal role in efforts to improve student success, particularly in community colleges. Page 15 Challenge #1 Diagnosis and placement No single assessment for measuring student readiness No current assessment effectively measures degree of readiness, to include identifying ABE students Challenge #2 Need to address ABE students ABE students not academically equipped for developmental education ABE students need to be remediated by other programs Challenge #3 Outdated models One-way in, one-way out structure Academic benchmarks outdated, particularly in math Instructional models outdated, particularly in treatment of reading and writing. Page 16 8
Challenge #4 Faculty experience and effectiveness Inadequate professional development for developmental education faculty Many developmental education courses taught by least experienced faculty Challenge #5 Academic support systems Academic and social support for development education students is inadequate Page 17 Develop and implement a single, comprehensive assessment tool Distinguish and remediate ABE students separately from developmental education Consider new, broader benchmarks for math in terms of college readiness Combine reading/writing into a single course Strengthen faculty professional development Page 18 9
Explore comprehensive course re-design with emphasis on blended and computerbased learning Develop and implement comprehensive academic support programs Assure all developmental education initiatives are based on solid cognitive research Align funding for community colleges with educational milestones Momentum Points Page 19 10