The Effect of Linked Learning Certified Pathways on Selected Student Outcomes
Author: Fitzgerald, Robert
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Grade 12,Outcomes of Education,High School Students,Vocational Education,Academic Education,College Readiness,Career Readiness,Learner Engagement,Attendance,Discipline,Enrollment,Comparative Analysis,Quasiexperimental Design,Statistical Analysis,Suspension,High School Graduates,Postsecondary Education,College Admission,Grade Point Average,Academic Persistence

This report examines outcomes for grade-12 students in academic years (AY) 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13 who were enrolled in a Linked Learning certified pathway (LLCP) in California. Outcomes include student engagement in learning, measured by high school attendance and discipline events, as well as college readiness and postsecondary enrollment. The analyses in this report are conducted using observational data. Therefore, quasi-experimental statistical methods are used along with crosstabular analysis to compare outcomes for these students with outcomes for similar students who did not participate in a pathway program. Propensity score matching and regression adjustment for differences in baseline characteristics between the LLCP and the matched comparison group that fell between 0.05 and 0.25 standard deviations were used to compare the two groups of grade-12 students (those in an LLCP and those who were not) in three AY cohorts. Among the highlights of the analyses conducted for this report are the following: (1) There were mixed findings for the association between participation in an LLCP and measures of student engagement as measured by attendance and disciplinary events in grade 12; (2) Grade-12 students in all three cohorts who participated in an LLCP had a higher probability of graduating from high school than students in the matched comparison group; (3) Grade-12 LLCP students in the AY 2011-12 cohort were more likely to complete the course work and GPA requirements for admission to both the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) than matched comparison group students, while among AY 2012-13 students, LLCP participants were more likely to complete these requirements for admission to a CSU than the comparison group; (4) There were contradictory findings for UC and CSU grade point averages calculated without respect to whether a student completed the 15 courses necessary for admission; and (5) There was no difference in the probability of enrolling in postsecondary education for AY 2010; however, AY 2011-12 LLCP students were more likely than comparison group students to have enrolled in postsecondary education. The following are appended: (1) List of Linked Learning Certified Pathways Included in the Analyses by District; (2) Description of Linked Learning Certified Pathways Included in the Study; (3) Variables Used in Analyses; (4) Logit Regressions Used to Estimate Propensity Scores; (5) Baseline Equivalence Tables after Matching on the Propensity Score; (6) Figures; (7) Descriptive Statistics for Outcome Measures for Overall and Matched Samples, by Cohort; (8) Certification Criteria for Linked Learning Pathways; and (9) Definitions of Statistical Terms Used.