Analyzing Pathways Data: The Strategic Data Project at Harvard University published a CTE Diagnostic toolkit which provides guidance and examples to postsecondary leaders about analyzing student progress and success in various CTE pathways. The toolkit offers proposed questions, sample data visualizations and summaries of analyses to conduct. It is structured around four topics: student completion, student progress, “gateway” courses (courses that prevent students from completing pathways), and credit accumulation. Additionally, it is accompanied by a technical guide that provides more detailed information about how to execute the examples featured in the toolkit.
Improving Pathways Programs: According to research featured in a brief by MDRC, community college career pathways programs can significantly increase credential completion and employment in targeted industries but may not improve earnings. Taking these findings into account, the brief offers several evidence-based strategies, as well as examples, that community colleges can employ to boost student success and economic mobility in career pathways programs. Some highlighted practices include integrating private sector training approaches, targeting family-supporting careers, providing comprehensive supports, and connecting students with employers and work-based learning experiences.
Measuring Beyond Completion: Recently, Strada Education Network released a report that integrates postsecondary student completion data with earnings and personal fulfillment data to provide insight into how postsecondary completion impacts students beyond graduation. Researchers used public data and data from Strada’s own surveys of postsecondary completers to reveal the following:
- About 58% of adults with an associate degree or higher earn at least 20% more than the median for a high school graduate and reported higher personal fulfillment through their education and training.
- Occupation is a strong predictor of earnings and personal fulfillment outcomes. For instance, completers employed in STEM, business and health care experience better outcomes compared to completers in service occupations.
- Higher levels of postsecondary attainment are associated with better economic and personal fulfillment outcomes; however, these results vary by race and gender.
Pell Grant Access and Completion: The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) released an analysis that provides information about Pell Grant recipient enrollments and completion rates at community colleges. Researchers gathered data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and Pell Grant Volume reports and shared the following findings:
- About 2 million Pell Grant recipients attend community colleges, representing one third of all Pell Grant recipients.
- In 2020-21, 25% of all community college students received a Pell Grant. This statistic has been declining since the Great Recession, especially in recent years, largely due to decreased enrollment among low-income students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In 2020-21, the three-year Pell completion rate was 25%, which is more than double the rate from the early 2000s.
Wraparound Supports: A brief by the Hunt Institute describes how wraparound supports are critical to ensuring that an increasingly diverse postsecondary population has the necessary resources to complete a postsecondary education. The brief outlines common barriers students may face when navigating, financing and prioritizing postsecondary education and accessing socioemotional health services. Additionally, the brief provides examples of innovative state- and local-level practices to address each barrier.
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