Accelerated Learning Program

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Community College Baltimore County
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T h e A c c e l e r a t e d L e a r n i n g
P r o j e c t
c o m m u n i t y c o l l e g e
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Outline

• why we developed ALP
• what ALP is
• results
• why it works
• costs
• future plans

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CCBCs Developmental Education ProgramCourses
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CCBCs Developmental Education ProgramCourses
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Two Ways of Viewing Developmental Education
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1993 Study

• students who took ENG 052 at Essex Community
  College in 1988/89
• 863 students
• followed for four yearsuntil 1992

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How We First Measured Success in Our
Developmental Courses
ABC in ENG101 287 81
S in ENG052 490 57
U or W ENG052 373 43
Success rates for students who took ENG052 in
88-89
Success rates for students who passed ENG052 in
88-89 and then took ENG101 by sp 92
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Students who took ENG 052 for the first time in
1988/1989
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Students who took ENG 052 for the first time in
1988/1989
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Students who took ENG 052 for the first time in
1988/1989
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Students who took ENG 052 for the first time in
1988/1989
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Students who took ENG 052 for the first time in
1988/1989
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Carlas Comment
Im really a terrible writer, but my English
teacher thinks Im a good writer, so this
semester I have written really good papers so
she doesnt find out what a bad writer I am.
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The Problem
For students placed in ENG 052,

• the success rate is too low.
• the attrition rate is too high

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Outline

• why we developed ALP
• what ALP is
• results
• why it works
• costs
• future plans

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Thanks to the Pioneers of Mainstreaming
California State University, Chico Arizona State
University City College of New York Miami
University, Middleton SUNY New Paltz Quinnipiac
University University of South Carolina College
of New Jersey San Francisco State
University Springfield College Washington State
University University of Washington University of
Wisconsin, Milwaukee
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Approaches to Mainstreaming

• stretch programs
• basic writers take special sections ENG 101
• course meets for two semesters instead of one
• intensive programs
• basic writers take special sections of ENG 101
• course meets six hours per week for one
  semester
• studio programs
• basic writers take ENG 101
• also take a one-credit studio

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Approaches to Acceleration

• summer bridge
• seven-week courses
• Accelerated Learning Project (ALP)

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Learning Communities

• a cohort of students take two courses that are
  coordinated by the instructors
• CCBC has been participating in a major study of
  their effectiveness
• At CCBC we have used them to pair a
  developmental course with a credit course

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Traditional ENG 052
semester 1
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ALP
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What do we do in the ENG 101 class?
The English 101 class is conducted just like a
regular 101 class. We consider it essential that
we maintain the same standards and cover the same
material in the 101 class as we would in any 101
section.
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What do we do in the ALP 052 class?

• The instructor for the ALP 052 section has one
  goal to do everything possible to maximize the
  ALP students likelihood of success in the 101
  class.
• answering questions left over from the 101 class
• discussing ideas for the next essay in 101
• reviewing drafts of essays the students are
  working on for 101
• writing short papers that reinforce what has
  been discussed in iiiiithe 101 class or prepare
  for what will be discussed in the 101 iiiiiclass
• working on grammar and punctuation
• discussing how to succeed as a college student
• discussing problems interfering with the
  students progress in 101

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Grading
ENG 052
ENG 101
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Expansion of ALP
640 students
640 students 50 of total students in ENGL 052
80 sections
320 students
40 sections
160 students
20 sections
80 students
2009-10
2007-08
2008-09
2010-11
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Outline

• why we developed ALP
• what ALP is
• results
• why it works
• costs
• future plans

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students who took traditional developmental
writing in fall 06
students who took ALP in fall 07, spring 08,
fall 08, spring 09
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students who took traditional developmental
writing in fall 06
students who took ALP in fall 07, spring 08,
fall 08, spring 09
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students who took traditional developmental
writing in fall 06
students who took ALP in fall 07, spring 08,
fall 08, spring 09
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ALP Success Rates, 2007-09
79 pass ENGL 052
79 pass ENGL 052
75
75 pass ENGL 052
74 pass ENGL 052
59 pass ENGL 052
50
25
traditional 052 fall 06
ALP fall 07
ALP spring 08
ALP fall 08
ALP spring 09
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ALP Success Rates, 2007-09
75
50
25
traditional 052 fall 06
ALP fall 07
ALP spring 08
ALP fall 08
ALP spring 09
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• investigating threats to validity
• investigating long-term effects

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• investigating threats to validity

• instructor bias
• longitudinal studies

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students who took traditional developmental
writing in fall 06
students who took ALP in fall 07, spring 08,
fall 08, spring 09
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took 101 74 100
S in 052 55 74
U, W, or I in 052 19 26
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• investigating threats to validity
• instructor bias
• longitudinal studies

• holistic blind scoring of final essays

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2009 Holistic Scoring of Final Essays in ALP ENG
101

• Students were given a reading which they will
  be asked to respond to. iii iiiiiiOne class
  period devoted to discussing the reading.
• Students were given one week of class time in
  last three weeks of semester iiiiiito write the
  paper.
• Students' papers were hand written or written
  on a computer.
• The assignment specified that the essay must
  have a thesis.
• The assignment did not require that the paper
  include any citations, but iiiiiistudents could
  choose to include them.
• While there was no minimum length required for
  the essay, students were iiiiiiigiven a
  guideline of approximately two double-spaced
  pages.

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2009 Holistic Scoring of Final Essays in ALP ENG
101

• Students wrote during the writing periods
  without assistance from the iiiiiiiinstructor.
• There also was no peer discussion during
  writing periods, but students iiiiiiiwere free to
  discuss the writing project between the class
  periods.
• During the writing periods, students could
  refer to books, notes, and the iiiiiiiinternet.
• The instructor collected disks or flash drives
  between writing periods.
• To insure adequate and consistent motivation on
  the part of students, these iiiiiiiessays were
  graded and were weighted approximately the same
  amount as iiiiiiiother essays written in the
  course.

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2009 Holistic Scoring of Final Essays in ALP ENG
101

• 134 papers were collected from the ten sections
  of ALP ENG 101
• 101 papers (75) randomly selected for scoring
• 96 papers actually scored

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2009 Holistic Scoring of Final Essays in ALP ENG
101

• Scorers were full- and part-time faculty from
  the English Department
• None of the scorers had taught in the ALP
  program
• The scoring was conducted by Christine Gray,
  also a member of the iiiiiiiiEnglish Department
  with no connection to ALP, but with years of
  iiiiiiiiexperience norming for ETS.
• Scorers were normed on papers not used in the
  study using a six-point iiiiiiiiscale and a
  rubric

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2009 Holistic Scoring of Final Essays in ALP ENG
101
100
75
50
25
0
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2009 Holistic Scoring of Final Essays in ALP ENG
101
75
50
25
0
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2009 Holistic Scoring of Final Essays in ALP ENG
101

• We are concerned that 9 more ALP students who
  had passed the course i iiiiiiwrote what was
  judged to be a failing final essay than was the
  case for iiiiii101-level students.
• We are relieved to learn that that difference
  was not statistically significant at iiiiiiithe p
  .01 or p .05 level.
• We are concerned that, overall, 54 of the
  students who passed the course iiiiiiwrote final
  essays that were judged as failing.
• We are aware that this study has not
  demonstrated that instructor bias is not a
  iiiiiiifactor in the success rate of ALP
  students.
• We plan to repeat the study this year, with
  double the number of students, iiiiiiiwith
  careful norming to insure the standards are
  realistic, and with a more iiiiiiireasonable
  writing situtation
• Should next years study reveal instructor bias
  does play a role (perhaps even iiiiiiif it
  doesnt) we contemplate moving to a grading
  system in which student iiiiiiportfolios would be
  graded by two people other that the students
  teacher the iiiiiifollowing year.

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• investigating threats to validity
• instructor bias
• longitudinal studies
• holistic blind scoring of final essays

• students in study not representative
• data on students

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Are ALP Students Different from Regular ENGL 052
Students?
Gender
100
50
traditional
ALP
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Are ALP Students Different from Regular ENGL 052
Students?
Race
100
50
traditional
ALP
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Are ALP Students Different from Regular ENGL 052
Students?
Age
100
50
traditional
ALP
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Are ALP Students Different from Regular ENGL 052
Students?
Full-Time/Part-Time
100
50
traditional
ALP
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Are ALP Students Different from Regular ENGL 052
Students?
How good a writer are you? a. better than most
CCBC students b. above average at CCBC c. fairly
average at CCBC d. below average at CCBC
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Are ALP Students Different from Regular ENGL 052
Students?
Mean Accuplacer Scores Fall 2008
90
86
82
78
74
70
66
62
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• investigating threats to validity
• instructor bias
• longitudinal studies
• holistic blind scoring of final essays
• students in study not representative
• data on students

• matched pairs study

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• investigating threats to validity
• investigating long-term effects

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Longitudinal Data from Fall 2007 and Fall 2008
Cohorts
traditional 052 fa 07 (n762)
100
ALP 052 fa 07 (n 39)
ALP 052 fa 08 (n77)
75
50
25
passed ENGL 102
persisted 1 year
15 credits
30 credits
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Outline

• why we developed ALP
• what ALP is
• results
• why it works
• costs
• future plans

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Student Surveys
Student surveys were distributed in all ALP
classes and in sections of traditional ENGL 052
at the beginning and at the end of the fall 08
and spring 09 semesters. 247 traditional ENGL
052 students and 115 ALP students responded to
the pre-semester survey. 93 traditional ENGL 052
students and 82 ALP students responded to the
post-semester survey. The exact number of
responses to each item varied slightly. Several
items allowed the student to check as many
answers as apply. Students could skip any
question they preferred not to answer.
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Effects on ALP Students
improved attitude
successful behavior
persistence
bonding
improved confidence
learning feels useful
attachment to college
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Effects on ALP Students
learning feels useful
attachment to college
successful behavior
persistence
confidence
positive attitude
bonding
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ALP encourages a more positive attitude in
developmental students.
How do you feel about the fact that you do not
get credit for this developmental English
course? a. very positive b. somewhat positive c.
somewhat negative d. very negative
pre- traditional
pre- ALP
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ALP encourages a more positive attitude in
developmental students.
How do you feel about the fact that you do not
get credit for this developmental English
course? a. very positive b. somewhat positive c.
somewhat negative d. very negative
post- traditional
post- ALP
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ALP encourages a more positive attitude in
developmental students.
Now that the semester is almost over, how do you
feel about having been required to take this
course? a. very positive b. somewhat positive c.
somewhat negative d. very negative
post- traditional
post- ALP
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Effects on ALP Students
learning feels useful
attachment to college
successful behavior
persistence
confidence
positive attitude
bonding
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Weekly Report on Student Behavioral Problems 1.
How many students originally registered for your
class _______. 2. How many students have
dropped the course ________. (Count students as
"dropped" when they have officially dropped
through Records Registration or if they have
missed so many classes that, if they returned
now, they could not possibly pass the
course.) 3. How many were absent each day this
week. If there are students whom you have listed
under question 2 as "dropped," do not count them
as absent. a. Monday or Tuesday _______ b.
Wednesday or Thursday ______ c. Friday
_______ 4. How many students were late by more
than 5 minutes a. Monday or Tuesday _______
b. Wednesday or Thursday ______ c. Friday
_______ 5. How many students missed deadlines
for submitting required work this week? If there
are students who did not come to class this week
and did not submit required work, count them in
this total. Do not count students whom you
listed as "dropped" in question 2 as missing
deadlines. 6. How many times this week did you
have to interrupt class to talk to a student or
several students about their behavior?
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Weekly Report on Student Behavior
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Study of Student Behavior from Fall 2008 and
Spring 2009
25
traditional ENGL 052
ALP ENGL 052
20
15
10
5
late for class
missed class
missed assignment deadlines
disrupted class
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ALP encourages positive student behaviors,
discourages negative ones.
I took part in class discussions a. often b.
fairly often c. occasionally d. seldom
post- traditional
post- ALP
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Effects on ALP Students
learning feels useful
attachment to college
successful behavior
persistence
confidence
positive attitude
bonding
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traditional
ALP
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Effects on ALP Students
learning feels useful
attachment to college
successful behavior
persistence
confidence
positive attitude
bonding
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Study of Student Behavior from Fall 2008 and
Spring 2009Percentage of Students Who,
Instructors Report, Dropped Out
30
25
20
15
10
5
traditional ENGL 052
ALP
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Effects on ALP Students
learning feels useful
attachment to college
successful behavior
persistence
confidence
positive attitude
bonding
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ALP increases bonds among the students
How well did you get to know your classmates this
semester? a. fairly well b. quite a bit c. a
little d. not much at all
post- traditional
post- ALP
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Effects on ALP Students
learning feels useful
attachment to college
successful behavior
persistence
confidence
positive attitude
bonding
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ALP increases student confidence.
How good a writer are you? a. better than most
CCBC students b. above average at CCBC c. fairly
average at CCBC d. below average at CCBC
40
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Effects on ALP Students
learning feels useful
attachment to college
successful behavior
persistence
confidence
positive attitude
bonding
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students perceive what theyre learning as more
useful because they apply it in the ENGL 101
section
Is what you learned in the ENG 052 class useful
in other classes? a. yes, a lot b. yes, some c.
not much d. no, not at all
post- traditional
post- ALP
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Effects on ALP Students
learning feels useful
attachment to college
successful behavior
persistence
confidence
positive attitude
bonding
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ALP increases student attachment to the college.
Which of the following best describes how you
feel about your current status at CCBC? a. I feel
like a real college student b. I feel like a real
college student in some ways, but in other ways I
dont c. I feel like Im being prepared to be a
real college student d. I feel like Im being
prevented from becoming a real college student
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pre- traditional
post- ALP
post- traditional
pre- ALP
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Effects on ALP Students
learning feels useful
attachment to college
successful behavior
persistence
confidence
positive attitude
bonding
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• mainstreamed into ENGL 101

• membership in cohort

• small class size

• meaningful context

• shortening of pipeline

• exposure to strong writers

• attention to behavioral issues

• attention to outside problems

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Sources of the Features of ALP

• mainstreamed into ENGL 101

• mainstreamed into ENGL 101

• membership in cohort

• small class size

• meaningful context

• shortening of pipeline

• exposure to strong writers

• attention to behavioral issues

• attention to outside problems

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Essential Features of ALP

• mainstreamed into ENGL 101

• mainstreamed into ENGL 101

• membership in cohort

• small class size

• meaningful context

• shortening of pipeline

• exposure to strong writers

• attention to behavioral issues

• attention to outside problems

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Outline

• why we developed ALP
• what ALP is
• results
• why it works
• costs
• future plans

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Costs Under Traditional Model
500 students
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Costs Under Traditional Model
20 students per section
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Costs for Dev Course Under Traditional Model
25 sections of Dev Eng
X 3 faculty credit hours/section
75 faculty credit hours
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Costs for FYC Under Traditional Model
37 of traditional developmental students take FYC
.37 X 500 185 students
185 students 20 students/section 9.25 sections
9.25 sections X 3 faculty credit hours/section
27.75 faculty credit hours
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Costs Under ALP
500 students
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Costs Under ALP
8 students per section
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Costs Under ALP Model
62.5 sections of ALP Dev Eng
X 2 faculty credit hours/section
125 faculty credit hours
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Costs for FYC Under ALP Model
100 of ALP developmental students take FYC
1.00 X 500 500 students
500 students 20 students/section 25 sections
25 sections X 3 faculty credit hours/section
75 faculty credit hours
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Comparison of Costs for 500 Students
Traditional
ALP
DEV 25 sect X 3 cr/sect 75.00 fch
DEV 62.5 sect X 2 cr/sect 125 fch
FYC 9.25 sect X 3 cr/sect 27.75 fch
FYC 25 sect X 3 cr/sect 75 fch
TOTAL 102.75 fch
TOTAL 200 fch
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An Analogy
widgets per year
cost per widget
cost/year to operate
100,000
10,000
10
200,000
22,000
9.09
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An Analogy
135 (27) of 500 students pass FYC
.76 fch per passing student
102.75 fch
315 (63) of 500 students pass FYC
.63 fch per passing student
200 fch
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An Analogy
135 (27) of 500 students pass FYC
.76 fch per passing student
102.75 fch
315 (63) of 500 students pass FYC
.63 fch per passing student
200 fch
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ALP Summary
Based on four semesters of data and 227 students,
compared to traditional developmental writing

• ALP doubles the success rate
• cuts the attrition rate in half
• does it in half the time
• at slightly less cost per successful student

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Outline

• why we developed ALP
• what ALP is
• results
• why it works
• costs
• future plans

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Other Disciplines Considering Acceleration

• math is piloting three different models
• ESOL will pilot a section in the spring
• the learning communities combining RDG 052
  iiiiwith a credit course are a form of
  acceleration

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ALP Expansion of the Program
740 students
640 students 50 of total students in ENGL 052
80 sections
320 students
40 sections
160 students
20 sections
80 students
2009-10
2007-08
2008-09
2010-11
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Other Disciplines Considering Acceleration

• math is piloting three different models
• ESOL will pilot a section in the spring
• the learning communities combining RDG 052
  iiiiwith a credit course are a form of
  acceleration

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Dissemination

• thirteen presentations in twelve months last
  year
• conference in June
• four partner schools
• Kingsborough CC (CUNY)
• Patrick Henry CC (Virginia)
• Gateway CC (Kentucky)
• El Paso CC (Texas)
• conference on acceleration next June
• more rigorous evaluation assisted by CCRC this
  iiiiyear and funded by the Gates Foundation

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Dissemination

• thirteen presentations in twelve months last
  year
• conference in June
• four partner schools
• Kingsborough CC (CUNY)
• Patrick Henry CC (Virginia)
• Gateway CC (Kentucky)
• El Paso CC (Texas)
• conference on acceleration next June
• more rigorous evaluation assisted by CCRC this
  iiiiyear and funded by the Gates Foundation

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Community College Baltimore County
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Thanks for your attention
T h e A c c e l e r a t e d L e a r n i n g
P r o j e c t
c o m m u n i t y c o l l e g e