Land of Promise: Comparing the Academic Outcomes of Kalamazoo Promise to Public School Students in a Four-Year Institution

• In Event: 47.097 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Eight - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 47.097-5 - What Matters in Postsecondary Student Success: From Local to National to International

Abstract

This study compares Kalamazoo Promise students against public school students in a 4-year institution between the Cohort Year of 2009-2011. Against and unweighted sample, logistic regressions suggest when controlling for race and gender, high school attributes, and prior performance – KPromise students were only more likely to experience an academic warning (OR=1.49) but where not statistically different in experiencing probation, academic dismissal, or in earning degrees. When using the doubly-robust Inverse Probability Weighting with Regression Adjustment (IPWRA) we find the treatment of KPromise is only significant for academic warning increasing risk by 1.39 times. Discussion centers on policy importance that despite coming from lower SES, KPromise students are statistically similar to the public-school students in the institution.

Authors

• Daniel A Collier, Western Michigan University

• Derek A. Houston, Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville

• Dan Fitzpatrick, Western Michigan University