Patterns of Student Engagement in an Online Credit Recovery Program

• In Event: Multiple Perspectives on the Use and Experience of Credit Recovery for High School Students

Abstract

Objectives and perspective
Online instructional programs were widely used for high school credit recovery, but prior research raises questions about how well students perform in these courses (e.g., Rickles et al., 2023). Identifying patterns of student engagement can provide valuable insight into how to support student success in the context of online learning (Kim & Ketenci, 2019; Milligan et al., 2013; Wise et al., 2012). This study aims at detecting patterns of student engagement in an online credit recovery program and how those patterns are associated with student background characteristics and academic performance. Specifically, this paper presents initial findings about the patterns of student engagement in the online program for Algebra 1 and English 9 summer credit recovery courses.

Methods
We applied multivariate time-series clustering to detect different patterns of student engagement separately for Algebra 1 and English 9 based on 5 key engagement measures: (1) time spent on the program per week, (2) lessons completed per week, (3) cumulative time spent on the program, (4) total percentage of lessons completed, and (5) number of days accessing the program. Forthcoming analyses will include a series of regression models to estimate the relationship between detected engagement patterns and student background characteristics, including race/ethnicity, gender, grade-level, and prior academic achievement, and academic performance.

Data sources
We used program log files provided by the online program for students enrolled in the online credit recovery program in school years 2017/18 through 2021/22 within a large urban school district. We also received administrative data from the district, including student background characteristics and the final grade students received in the course.

Results
Preliminary results indicate that, for either Algebra 1 or English 9, students could be classified into distinct high and low engagement patterns. For Algebra 1, a typically high engagement student showed an upward trend on weekly time spent, completed at least 5 different lessons per week, spent more than 27 hours in total on the program, completed 100% of the lessons, and actively accessed the program for 19 of the 24 instructional days during the summer. A typically low engagement student gradually spent a substantive amount of time on the program during the first week, but decreased the weekly time spent over the course of the term, completed no more than 5 lessons per week, spent less than 6 hours in total on the program, completed only 18% of the lessons, and actively accessed the program for 10 of the 24 instructional days. Typical high and low engagement students taking English 9 showed similar patterns (see Figure 2.1).

Significance
The study fills a critical need for understanding how credit recovery students interact with and progress through online credit recovery program and what key measures educators can rely on to monitor student engagement in such program. Forthcoming analyses will provide evidence about which subgroups of credit recovery students might benefit less from the self-paced online credit recovery program and need more in-person or teacher-directed support from educators to achieve more equitable outcomes.

Authors

• Shuqiong Lin, American Institutes for Research

• Amani Talwar, American Institutes for Research

• Jordan Rickles, University of California - Los Angeles

• Peggy Clements, American Institutes for Research