A Multilevel Propensity Score Approach to Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Community College Pathways

• In Event: Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Research Methods and Approaches to Examining Academic and Behavioral Outcomes

Abstract

Statway® and Quantway® are the Community College Pathways initiatives developed to promote students’ progress through their developmental math sequence and reduce the time required to earn college math credit. Early descriptive results suggested that both programs dramatically increased students’ success rates in half the time. This study presents a more rigorous causal analysis of hypothesized program effects. We used a multilevel approach with propensity score matching to evaluate the effectiveness of both Pathways. Propensity score matching results of Statway were consistent with earlier descriptive findings. They replicated across different cohorts and held across the gender and race/ethnicity groups. College-level course credit accumulation in the subsequent year was also compared. Similar analyses of the Quantway success are underway.

Authors

• Hiroyuki Yamada, Carnegie Foundation

• Christopher A. Thorn, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

• Suleyman Yesilyurt