GEAR UP
PSA is serving as evaluation partner for the seven-year GEAR UP grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to Grand Island (NE) Public Schools (GIPS). Through GEAR UP, GIPS aims to work with a cohort of at-risk, low-income, and under-served students from middle school through postsecondary enrollment, to (1) increase academic performance and preparation for postsecondary enrollment; (2) increase the rate of high school graduation and participation in postsecondary education; and (3) increase educational expectations of students and families, and their knowledge of postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing. PSA is conducting surveys of parents and youth of a cohort of students who will be supported from middle school through postsecondary enrollment; conducting site visits and interviews with GEAR UP district leaders, staff, and community stakeholders. As part of the evaluation, PSA will also analyze GIPS student performance data and data from the National Student Clearinghouse to assess whether students are on track for both high school completion and postsecondary enrollment and retention. The goal of the evaluation is both to provide feedback to GIPS leaders to improve and refine program supports in each year, and to support the district’s annual reporting requirements to the Department.
Performance-Based Scholarship Initiative
PSA evaluated a pilot of a performance-based scholarship for graduates of the Baltimore City Public Schools who enrolled in the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) or the Baltimore City Community College (BCCC). Funded by the Abell Foundation, the mixed-method, quasi-experimental evaluation included interviews with staff who managed the program at each college campus, a survey of program participants, and analyses of high school graduation data (provided by the school district) and college enrollment data (provided by both colleges). Quantitative analyses compared the early college outcomes of credit accrual, developmental course completion, and reenrollment for program participants and similar Baltimore City high school graduates. PSA used a propensity matching technique to identify the comparison group and logistic and linear regression for inferential analyses. Reporting focused on combining data from all sources to develop an in-depth understanding of how the initiative worked, key facilitators of student success, and potential areas for improvement.
Student Leadership Network
For the Student Leadership Network (formerly the Young Women’s Leadership Network), PSA evaluated the implementation and the impact of the CollegeBound Initiative, a school-based college guidance program in New York City, Philadelphia, and New Haven, Connecticut. Data collection included on-site and phone interviews, an online survey, and extraction and analysis of data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), the National Student Clearinghouse database, and student level data maintained by CollegeBound. To measure student impact, PSA extracted data from ELS to create a comparison group of students from high poverty urban schools. PSA compared the college-going outcomes of CollegeBound students with this ELS comparison group. The analysis found that a substantially and significantly higher proportion of CollegeBound students attended college than did the ELS comparison group. CollegeBound students were also significantly more likely to attend four-year, out-of-state, and private colleges than were ELS students. PSA also conducted an alumni study for the Student Leadership Network, designed to explore the educational and career experiences of young people who participated in the network in high school, including whether they achieved expected milestones such as college matriculation and completion. PSA administered an online survey to i 6,680 alumni who graduated high school between 2001 and 2014. The PSA team supplemented survey data with data from the National Student Clearinghouse.
Sponsors for Educational Opportunity
PSA conducted a quasi-experimental evaluation of the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Scholars in New York City, exploring the program’s impact on high school graduation, SAT performance, college enrollment, college persistence, and college completion. PSA designed a matched comparison study, using propensity-score matching, to track the high school and college progress of SEO Scholars and a comparison group matched at eighth grade, the study’s baseline. PSA obtained educational data from the New York City Department of Education and from the National Student Clearinghouse. Data on readiness for college were obtained from the College Board, which provided SAT data for students in the sample.
Harlem Educational Activities Fund
The Harlem Educational Activities Fund (HEAF) recruits underserved students and provides academic and social supports until college completion. PSA assessed the high school outcomes and college enrollment of participating students, compared to that of similar students attending the same high schools but not receiving HEAF college readiness services, using data from the central student databases of the New York City Department of Education, the College Board, and the National Student Clearinghouse progress. HEAF students in the evaluation sample included all those who were expected to graduate from high school in spring 2012 through spring 2016. In addition, PSA collected similar data on a matched comparison group of students who attended the same high schools as those attended by HEAF students but who did not participate in HEAF.
College-Community Connections Program
For the Teagle Foundation, PSA evaluated the sustainability, replicability, participant characteristics, and outcomes of the College-Community Connections (CCC) program, which established partnerships between colleges and community-based organizations. These partnerships offered exposure to college-level work in the liberal arts in order to help underserved high school students prepare for and succeed in college. PSA gathered and analyzed qualitative data on CCC partnerships and similar programs in New York City, California, and Illinois to identify program factors that would promote and support sustainability and replication, and used National Student Clearinghouse data to examine college enrollment and persistence of CCC alumni.
Evaluation Summary of the Teagle Foundation’s College-Community Connections Initiative
College Summit
PSA partnered with the American Institutes for Research and Higher Ed Insight on a three-year evaluation of the College Summit program, focused on the formation of a college-going culture in high schools across the National Capitol Region, and the high-school-to-college transition of students in these schools. Funded by the Social Innovation Fund, New Profit, and Venture Philanthropy, the study was required to meet What Works Clearinghouse standards for “moderate” level of effectiveness. PSA led the qualitative component of the study, collecting and analyzing data on the college-going culture in high school settings through surveys, interviews, and observations in both College Summit high schools and matched high schools. The PSA team also led the identification these comparison high schools using propensity matching data extracted from the Common Core of Data and state websites.
Health Education Program
PSA partnered with faculty and staff from the George Washington University to evaluate the implementation and impact of a Health Education Program (HEP). The HEP is a partnership among a local foundation, mid-Atlantic school district, and local health system. The program consists of comprehensive academic and applied healthcare instruction at the secondary school level. The program began fall 2007 with junior and seniors and then expanded to the full three-year (for grades 10-12) instructional program. The evaluation explored program features and how different aspects of program operation connected with high school completion and college enrollment and persistence. PSA led the quantitative analyses which leverage National School Clearinghouse data to explore differences in college enrollment among similar participating and non-participating students. Data analyses revealed that students who participated in programming for more than one year may have a slightly higher rate of college enrollment. The findings were published in the International Journal of Education Reform.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/105678791802700205