Getting Ready for College: An Implementation and Early Impacts Study of Eight Texas Developmental Summer Bridge Programs. NCPR Brief
Author: Wathington, Heather D.
Date: 2011-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Control Groups,Research Design,Summer Programs,Community Colleges,Academic Achievement,Program Effectiveness,Program Costs,College Readiness,Program Implementation,Outcome Measures,Developmental Studies Programs,Enrollment,Experimental Groups,Longitudinal Studies,Academic Support Services,Fidelity,College Students,Educational Policy,Achievement Gap,At Risk Students,Remedial Programs,Remedial Instruction,Remedial Mathematics,Remedial Reading,Federal Aid,State Programs

In 2009, the National Center for Postsecondary Research (NCPR) launched an evaluation of eight developmental summer bridge programs in Texas to assess whether these programs reduce the need for developmental coursework and improve student outcomes in college. The evaluation uses an experimental design to measure the effects of these programs on college enrollment and success. At each college, students who consented to participate in the study were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a program group that was eligible to participate in a developmental summer bridge program and a control group that was eligible to receive their college's regular services. (Random assignment creates two groups that are similar in both characteristics that can be measured, such as age or academic attainment, and those that cannot be reliably measured, such as motivation. This ensures that any differences in observed outcomes--called impacts--between the two groups can be attributed with confidence to participation in the developmental summer bridge programs.) Students participated in the developmental summer bridge programs in summer 2009, and their academic progress is being followed through the 2010-2011 academic year. All developmental summer bridge programs had four common features: an accelerated format, academic support, a &quot;college knowledge&quot; component, and the opportunity for participants to receive a $400 stipend. Eight institutions were selected for inclusion in this study: (1) El Paso Community College (El Paso, TX); (2) Lone Star College-CyFair (Houston, TX); (3) Lone Star College-Kingwood (Houston, TX); (4) South Texas College (McAllen, TX); (5) Texas A&amp;M International University (Laredo, TX); (6) Palo Alto College (San Antonio, TX); (7) San Antonio College (San Antonio, TX); and   (8) St. Philip's College (San Antonio, TX). This Brief presents early impact results from the evaluation and information on how the developmental summer bridge programs were implemented. It focuses on the models used, the range of design features incorporated, how the programs were administered, and how they were perceived by those involved, including college and program leaders, faculty, advisors, and students. A cost study of developmental summer bridge programs is also  included. The following are the main preliminary findings of this study: (1) All eight programs in the study were implemented with reasonable fidelity to the model framed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), but they varied on some key dimensions; (2) Program costs averaged about $1,300 per student but varied widely; (3) Program group students did not enroll in either the fall or spring semester at significantly different rates than control group students; enrollment rates were high for both groups; and (4) There is evidence that the program students were more likely to pass college-level courses in math and writing in the fall semester following the summer programs. The findings also suggest that program students were more likely to attempt higher level reading, writing, and math courses compared with control group students. [This paper was written with Matthew Zeidenberg, Madeline Joy Weiss, Alison Black, Claire Mitchell, and John Wachen. For &quot;Getting Ready for College: An Implementation and Early Impacts Study of Eight Texas Developmental Summer Bridge Programs,&quot; see ED525149.]