Evaluation Report Brief

Gateway to College: Gateway to 

College Program

What are the goals of the program? 

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Gateway to College serves students who have dropped 

out of high school, or are at risk of dropping out, by 

providing the opportunity to earn a high school 

diploma and credits towards a postsecondary degree. 

Students complete Gateway to college courses then are 

transitioned to mainstream community college. The 

Gateway to College program is a national network of 

43 colleges in 23 states, maintaining partnerships with 

more than 125 school districts. 

What was the purpose of evaluation?

Gateway to College conducted an implementation 

study to better understand the Gateway to College 

model, assess the extent to which it was implemented 

as designed, and draw lessons for Gateway to College 

sites. The implementation evaluation was conducted at 

three Gateway locations, with one site per state: 

California, Colorado, and Washington. 

What did we learn from the evaluation?

The evaluation was guided by four primary questions: 

Who does the model serve? Were the core elements of 

the Gateway to College model implemented as 

planned? What kinds of adaptations were made to meet the needs of the local context and student population? 

What factors facilitated or impeded successful program implementation? Here are some of the important 

findings from this study. 

Who does the model serve? 

 The population served at these three sites is both challenged and promising. Many of the students 

enrolled in the program had not been disconnected from education for long periods of time. This 

finding suggests that the program may have a stronger focus on dropout prevention than dropout 

recovery. 

Were the core elements of the model implemented as planned? 

 At a high-level, the participating sites implemented the core model as designed. This is a promising 

finding since implementing elements of the core model is what makes this program most effective. 

Program At-a-Glance 

CNCS Program: Social Innovation Fund 

Intervention: Gateway to College Program 

Subgrantee: Gateway to College 

Intermediary: Edna McConnell Clark Foundation 

Focus Area(s): Youth Development 

Focus Population(s): At-risk and dropout youth 

Community(ies) Served: California, Colorado, Washington 

Evaluation At-a-Glance 

Evaluation Design(s): Implementation Study 

Study Population: Students age 16-20 

Independent Evaluator: MDRC 

Level of Evidence before by Evaluation*: Preliminary 

Level of Evidence achieved by Evaluation**: Preliminary 

Study Population: Students age 16-20

* SIF-supported interventions undergo a level of evidence assessment at the point of 

program entry and are expected to advance that base of evidence through rigorous 

evaluation during the grant period.

**SIF and AmeriCorps currently use different definitions of levels of evidence.

Office of Research and Evaluation, Corporation for National and Community Service December 2015 
Evaluation Report Brief

Gateway to College: Gateway to 

College Program

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What kinds of adaptations were made to meet the needs of the local context 

 d

and student population? 

 The main adaptations across the three sites included how 

the career development course was implemented and how 

the learning communities were formed. What factors 

facilitated or impeded successful program implementation?

 One important factor that most students found useful was 

the strong relationships they developed with instructors an

Resource Specialists (counselors/ advisors). Students at the

three sites appreciated being treated with maturity and 

respect by program staff. If a student began to fall behind, 

program staff worked with the student to identify ways of 

mitigating their challenges, as opposed to punishing the 

student. 

 The biggest challenge experienced by the program was retaining students in the program during the 

initial term. Less than half of students were able to pass all of their Gateway to College courses and 

successfully transition to a mainstream community college. 

Notes on the evaluation

Initially, the evaluation was designed as an implementation study as well as a student-level random 

assignment impact evaluation across nine sites. However, due to challenges with student recruitment and site 

attrition that affected the sample size ,the study shifted to an implementation evaluation of the three sites. 

How is Gateway to College using their evaluation experience and findings to improve? 

The findings of this study are not generalizable beyond the three sites, due to the small number of program 

sites used in this study. However, as a result of the study, the Gateway to College program reports that 

numerous changes have been made to improve the implementation of the program. For example, program 

directors have set performance goals to provide a uniform and clear directive to shape continuous 

improvement efforts; sites have begun offering more developmental courses to meet the needs of student who 

could benefit from additional time and support to build their academic skills and content knowledge; sites 

have made their intake process more rigorous and reflective of what it would be like to be enrolled in a 

Gateway to College program. 

The content of this brief was drawn from the full evaluation report submitted to CNCS by the grantee/subgrantee. The section of the brief that 

discusses evaluation use includes contribution of the grantee/subgrantee. All original content from the report is attributable to its authors. 

To access the full evaluation report and learn more about CNCS, please visit www.nationalservice.gov/research. 

. The Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), 

combines public and private resources to grow the impact of innovative, community-based solutions that have 

compelling evidence of improving the lives of people in low-income communities throughout the United States. 

The SIF invests in three priority areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development. 

Office of Research and Evaluation, Corporation for National and Community Service December 2015