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March 12, 2008A Good Start |
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From MDRC: Over the past few decades, a postsecondary credential has become increasingly important in the labor market, and college attendance has become more common. Unfortunately, however, many students leave college before receiving a degree, particularly those who are academically underprepared for college-level work. Many postsecondary institutions operate learning communities to promote students' involvement and persistence in college. Learning communities typically place groups of students in two or more linked courses with mutually reinforcing themes and assignments. While learning communities are increasingly popular, little rigorous evidence on their effects exists. The program placed freshmen in groups of up to 25 who took three classes together during their first semester: an English class, usually at the developmental level; an academic course, such as health or psychology; and a one-credit orientation course. Using a rigorous research design, MDRC assigned 1,534 freshmen, at random, either to a program group that was eligible for the learning community or to a control group that received the college's standard courses and services. Students in the program group felt more integrated and more engaged than students in the control group. The program also improved some educational outcomes while students were in the learning community program, but the effects diminished in subsequent semesters. Students in the program group were more likely to take and pass English skills assessment tests that are required for graduation or transfer. In the last semester of the report's two-year follow-up period, however, slightly more program group members than control group members attended college. These results are not the final word on Kingsborough's program: MDRC plans to continue tracking sample members' outcomes for at least another year.
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