English Learners and ESL Programs in the Community College: A Review of the Literature

Demographic and postsecondary enrollment data suggest that the proportion of community college students who need support to access curricula in English is large and will continue to grow in the coming years. Yet there is limited research on the postsecondary experiences and outcomes of these English learners, and most of the studies that are available focus exclusively on the subset of English learners who enroll in ESL courses. Informed by relevant research literature, this paper examines factors within the community college context that affect the experiences and academic outcomes of the English learner population broadly and, given that they can be more easily identified and have been the subject of much more study, students who enroll in ESL courses in particular. The paper describes English learners and their academic needs and strengths and provides a brief discussion of the national and state policy landscape regarding English learner students. It then provides perspectives from the research literature on ESL assessment and placement, instructional delivery, and student identity. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of these findings for policy, practice, and future research. In June 2019 small revisions were made on pp. 13 and 16 of this paper to better clarify the influence of Assembly Bill 705 on English learners in California

Becoming College-Ready: Early Findings From a CUNY Start Evaluation

CUNY Start, a pre-matriculation program developed by the City University of New York, seeks to help the lowest placed developmental education students become college ready in just one semester. The program targets incoming students who are assessed as needing remediation in math, reading, and writing by providing intensive instruction for one semester while students delay enrollment in college. It uses a conceptual student-centered curriculum and instructional delivery method and provides a robust approach to staffing and training that allows instructors to learn to implement these strategies while under the tutelage of experienced teachers. It also provides advising, tutoring, and a weekly seminar that teaches students skills they need to succeed in college. Students pay only $75 for the program and do not use financial aid. This report describes the early findings of a random assignment evaluation and implementation study of CUNY Start by CCRC, MDRC, and CUNY. After following CUNY Start and control group students for three semesters, the researchers found: CUNY Start was implemented as it was designed, and the contrast between the program and the colleges’ standard developmental courses and services was substantial. During the first semester in the study, program group students made substantially more progress through developmental education than control group students. Control group students earned more college credits than program group students, as predicted by CUNY Start’s designers. During the second semester, program group students enrolled at CUNY colleges either in CUNY Start or in non-CUNY Start courses at a higher rate than control group students. A final report will look at CUNY Start students’ persistence in college, college credit accumulation, and graduation rates. Another paper will detail CUNY Start’s math curriculum and pedagogy, and a brief will focus on CUNY Start’s staff recruitment, induction, and professional development. CUNY will also create a CUNY Start “Practice Guide.

The Next Phase of Placement Reform: Moving Toward Equity-Centered Practice

Test-only placement systems are associated with inaccurate placement determinations that can perpetuate college achievement gaps by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). In response to the pitfalls of traditional, test-only placement systems, colleges across the country are increasingly experimenting with and adopting alternative placement strategies that reduce the number of students assigned to prerequisite developmental education and increase access to college-level courses. These reforms benefit underserved students but by themselves are not enough to eradicate long-standing disparities by race/ethnicity and SES in outcomes such as introductory college-level (or gateway) course completion and credential attainment. For placement reform to be both effective and equitable, it is best coupled with additional related reforms, including improvements to curriculum, instruction, and student supports. Aimed at practitioners, this brief provides guidance to institutions seeking to design and implement placement systems that redress limitations of test-only systems and that work in conjunction with other reforms to generate more equitable outcomes. It draws on research literature as well as examples from the field to highlight promising strategies for addressing barriers to equitable access to and success in college-level courses, including barriers that may persist after broad placement reform has been implemented

Improving Developmental and College-Level Mathematics: Prominent Reforms and the Need to Address Equity

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition that the traditional system of college mathematics remediation that relies on high-stakes placement tests and prerequisite, multilevel course sequences is associated with lowered chances of students completing developmental requirements and increased rates of student attrition. This recognition has led to nationwide reform efforts that strive to alter the structure and curricula of remedial math courses. However, these broad-based reforms have been insufficient in eliminating inequities in developmental placement and completion between students of color and other underserved students and their more advantaged peers. Informed by relevant research literature, this paper argues that the majority of reforms to developmental math education seek to remedy general barriers to student progress but are not typically designed to address equity gaps and, perhaps unsurprisingly, do little to reduce them. The authors examine issues of concern present in traditional developmental math education and how existing reforms—including assessment and placement reforms, acceleration reforms, contextualization reforms, and curricular and pedagogic reforms—aim to address these issues, noting if they are associated with reductions in equity gaps. The authors also explore the potential for targeted reforms in developmental math to more effectively address the factors that contribute to inequities in student outcomes, factors such as stereotype threat, math anxiety, instructor bias, and tracking. The paper concludes with recommendations for colleges: create and use developmental and college-level math curriculum and instruction that affirms students’ math ability and improves their confidence, engage in student-centered instructional practices that encourage conceptual understanding of math and give students a sense of ownership over their own learning, provide professional development to faculty to help identify and remediate instructor biases, develop policies and practices that prevent the tracking of underserved students into less rigorous math courses and/or developmental education, and, similarly, consider ways to increase access to STEM courses for Black and Latinx students

Informed Self-Placement Today: An Exploratory Study of Student Outcomes and Placement Practices

In response to research raising concerns about developmental placement, new placement systems and curricular models designed to increase the number of students placed into entry-level college courses have emerged in recent years. These systems aim to more accurately identify students who may benefit from some type of developmental instruction and those who are ready for entry-level college courses. This CAPR brief presents findings of an exploratory study of informed self-placement (ISP), a placement system in which colleges provide information about placement policies, available courses, and other relevant topics to engage students as active participants in their own placement. ISP, which is also called guided self-placement or directed self-placement, is of interest because it does not rely solely, if at all, on standardized test scores, which research shows are not reliable predictors of performance in college. Moreover, many colleges adopted ISP during the COVID-19 pandemic, when this study began, because they experienced difficulty administering standardized tests and were seeking reliable placement methods that could be easily used in a virtual setting. The study examined course enrollment and completion trends among students placed using ISP practices and sought to document varied approaches to ISP. The researchers collected demographic and outcome data on students’ math and English course enrollments and completions over the last five academic years at three Nevada colleges offering associate and bachelor’s degrees. They also interviewed assessment and placement scholars and representatives of higher education systems and institutions currently implementing some form of ISP. The brief provides a taxonomy of various ISP systems, shares descriptive data on course enrollment and completion, and identifies important equity and access considerations for states and institutions interested in implementing ISP. Although more research is needed to understand the causal impacts of ISP on student outcomes, the data suggest that ISP has the potential to improve students' access to college-level coursework. This exploratory study accompanies the CAPR brief Reviewing the Research on Informed Self-Placement: Practices, Justifications, Outcomes, and Limitations by Tiffany Morton

A Changing Paradigm in High School Mathematics

In the United States, the prevailing high school mathematics course sequence begins with a year of Algebra I, followed by a year of geometry and a year of Algebra II. Educators and others have raised concerns about the extent to which this sequence, which prioritizes the mastery of algebra, is appropriate for the longer term education and career goals of students who do not intend to pursue STEM degrees in college. These concerns have impelled educators and policymakers to reexamine the prominence of algebra in high school mathematics curricula and to consider new approaches that provide students with more mathematics course options better aligned with their academic and career goals. This paper explores existing approaches to high school mathematics curricula as well as new developments in the field. The authors discuss a range of high school mathematics course sequences and look at some of the systemic challenges embedded within the traditional paradigm. They also examine federal and state changes to the provision of high school mathematics in the early 21st century, the influence of postsecondary institutions on high school math curricula, and innovative high school math reforms occurring in Ohio, California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the Charles A. Dana Center’s new initiative, Launch Years, works to reimagine high school mathematics and its relationship to postsecondary education and careers

Strategies for Improving Postsecondary Credential Attainment Among Black, Hispanic, and Native American Adults

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the highest unemployment that the U.S. has seen since the Great Depression, with particularly heavy job losses for Black, Hispanic, and Native American workers. In this set of studies commissioned by Lumina Foundation, the authors examine actions that states and community colleges can take to address the needs of racially minoritized adult learners who are pursuing postsecondary education and training as a path to re-employment, better jobs, and higher incomes. Study 1. Aligning Short-Term Credentials with Community College Degree Programs describes how some states are creating and scaling opportunities for adults to earn occupational certificates that employers value and that lead to associate and bachelor’s degrees. Study 2. Bundling and Sequencing Student Support Services explains how community colleges can improve the design and delivery of advising and other critical support services to help adults attain their education and employment goals. Study 3. Culturally Sustaining Supports and Instruction offers examples and guiding principles that colleges can use to create programs and services that address the interests and needs of adults from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, and that encourage persistence in and completion of postsecondary credentials. To describe these approaches and why they show promise, the authors draw on telephone interviews with state policymakers, community college leaders, and content area experts. Some of the policies and programs profiled have been evaluated; others represent promising strategies that will require further study to determine whether they improve education and employment outcomes and advance racial equity

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Becoming College-Ready: Early Findings From a CUNY Start Evaluation

CUNY Start, a pre-matriculation program developed by the City University of New York, seeks to help the lowest placed developmental education students become college ready in just one semester. The program targets incoming students who are assessed as needing remediation in math, reading, and writing by providing intensive instruction for one semester while students delay enrollment in college. It uses a conceptual student-centered curriculum and instructional delivery method and provides a robust approach to staffing and training that allows instructors to learn to implement these strategies while under the tutelage of experienced teachers. It also provides advising, tutoring, and a weekly seminar that teaches students skills they need to succeed in college. Students pay only $75 for the program and do not use financial aid. This report describes the early findings of a random assignment evaluation and implementation study of CUNY Start by CCRC, MDRC, and CUNY. After following CUNY Start and control group students for three semesters, the researchers found: CUNY Start was implemented as it was designed, and the contrast between the program and the colleges’ standard developmental courses and services was substantial. During the first semester in the study, program group students made substantially more progress through developmental education than control group students. Control group students earned more college credits than program group students, as predicted by CUNY Start’s designers. During the second semester, program group students enrolled at CUNY colleges either in CUNY Start or in non-CUNY Start courses at a higher rate than control group students. A final report will look at CUNY Start students’ persistence in college, college credit accumulation, and graduation rates. Another paper will detail CUNY Start’s math curriculum and pedagogy, and a brief will focus on CUNY Start’s staff recruitment, induction, and professional development. CUNY will also create a CUNY Start “Practice Guide.