Meeting of the OKLAHOMA STATE REGENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION May 25, 2012

Transcription

1 Meeting of the OKLAHOMA STATE REGENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION May 25, 2012 AGENDA ITEM #18-a: Student Performance Reports. SUBJECT: Oklahoma High School Indicators Project. Reports required by 1989 legislation relating to (1) high school to college-going rate by high school site, (2) performance of college freshmen by high school site, and (3) ACT performance by high school site. RECOMMENDATION: BACKGROUND: This item is for information only. In Senate Bill No. 183 from the 1989 legislative session, Section 13 set up a program designed to evaluate the performance of individual schools and school districts in the state of Oklahoma. This program not only required multiple types of evaluation by the State Department of Education, but also required that the individual schools and districts be notified of these evaluations, and that the general public also be advised as to the "effectiveness" of individual schools or districts. In response to the directive of SB 183, the State Regents provide the following four reports; (1) High School to College-Going Rates for Oklahoma High School Graduates to Oklahoma Colleges; (2) Headcount, Semester Hours, and GPA Report; (3) Mean ACT Scores by Oklahoma High School Site; and (4) Remediation Rates for Oklahoma High School Graduates in Oklahoma Public Higher Education (beginning in 1995). POLICY ISSUES: These reports are consistent with States Regents policy. ANALYSIS: A summary of remediation rates for Oklahoma high school graduates in Oklahoma public higher education are contained within this agenda. The data describes 2010 Oklahoma high school graduates 17, 18 or 19 years old who entered an Oklahoma public college or university as first-time entering freshmen in fall The summary identifies remediation activity of students who took at least one remedial course. Listed are the freshmen student headcount and percentage for each of the four subject areas of remedial courses: science, English, mathematics, and reading. An unduplicated headcount and percentage is also provided for students who could have been remediated in more than one subject area but counted only once in the unduplicated total. Additional information will be provided online containing headcounts and percentages grouped by county, district and high school site. 163

2 Of the fall 2010 first-time freshmen (20,500) 38.0 percentt (7,798) enrolled in one or more remedial courses. The unduplicated remediation percent has changed little since first being reported for falll 1996 first-time freshmen (37.3), a difference of seven tenths percentage points. Fall 2010 unduplicated remediation is down 2.8 percentage points from the previous year. This marks the first year that the Unduplicated and Math remediation rate have declined afterr three consecutive years of increases. Math declined 3.7 percentage points from the previous year. English declinedd 4.2 percentage points from its previous year which coincides with a 3.7 percentage point increase in reading. This shift can in part be explained by a change in methodology used to better identify both reading and English remediation. Science remediation dropped two tenths of a full point to 1.1 percent. Headcount Fall ,318 Fall ,403 Fall ,423 Fall ,208 Fall ,500 Science % English % Math. % Reading % Unduplicated % In compliance with Senate Bill No. 183, the State Regents Accountability. will transmitt these reports to the Office of 164

3 Meeting of the OKLAHOMA STATE REGENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION May 25, 2012 AGENDA ITEM #18-b Student Performance Reports. SUBJECT: Annual Student Remediation/Developmental Education Report. RECOMMENDATION: BACKGROUND: This item is for information only. In 1991, the State Regents adopted the Student Assessment Policy that required each institution to develop and implement a comprehensive assessment program with mandatory student placement in Fall This is the twentieth annual student remediation (here after referred to as developmental education) report. Societal, demographic, and technological changes have contributed to increased demands for access to higher education with minorities and immigrants overrepresented among those who need developmental education. Recent economic conditions have resulted in substantial increases in regional and community college enrollment along with concomitant increases in developmental education needs. The widespread need for college developmental education has brought about efforts to prepare students while still in high school. National and regional studies report approximately one-third of new freshmen enroll in remedial courses, and states with mandatory assessment and placement programs, such as Oklahoma, report higher remediation rates. Nationally, little change in the number of students enrolled in developmental education courses has taken place in the last few years. Community colleges report the greatest percentage of developmental education, with math being the most cited area of deficiency. Nationally, 60 percent of all developmental education is conducted by community colleges. Oklahoma community colleges have over 79 percent of the State System s developmental education enrollments. Financial costs of developmental education are being addressed in different ways by various states, with some requiring additional fees from the developmental education student. Others have proposed that the developmental education costs be borne by the secondary schools that graduated the student needing developmental education. Nationally, developmental education costs are less than 1 percent of the total public higher education budget. Oklahoma students pay more for developmental education courses at State System institutions. Those developmental education fees, set by the individual institution, generated $3.46 million in

4 OKLAHOMA INITIATIVES: The State Regents approved the adoption of a College Completion agenda at their October 20, 2011 meeting which includes reform in remedial and developmental education as a key component. The agenda incorporates the Complete College America and National Governors Association Complete to Compete metrics, recommits to a revised Brain Gain performance program, and makes college completion a top priority with commitments to state and campus goals, action plans and measures of progress. The State Regents have committed the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education to statewide reform and redesign of developmental education through redesign projects and a common framework established by the OSRHE and implemented by all colleges and universities. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE) Council of Presidents and the Council on Instruction are currently guiding institutions through reviews of existing remedial and developmental education programs to work toward a reform that advances the student s time of completion and learning outcomes. All campuses are involved in redesign projects with several piloting academic assessment, placement, and delivery reforms with a common evaluation framework. Policy and program redesign efforts will continue through with new OSRHE Assessment and Remediation policies expected to be finalized in Spring Prior measures which the State Regents have taken to reduce developmental education include: 1) enhancing teacher preparation, 2) increasing standards for college preparation, 3) establishing better communication with and feedback to Oklahoma high schools, and 4) facilitating cooperation between various state education entities to increase the number of students who go to college directly from high school. Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) a voluntary student assessment and instructional support program that provides feedback to middle and high schools about their performance in preparing students for college is funded and supported by the OSRHE. Currently, 98 percent of all K-12 public school districts, 65 private schools and two Bureau of Indian Affairs schools participate in EPAS, reaching more than 98 percent of the state s eighth grade students and 99.5 percent of tenth graders attend a school that participates in EPAS. ACT reports that, from 1993 to 2011, the percent of Oklahoma students taking the ACT has increased by ten percent and the mean score for Oklahoma s students has increased from 20.1 to Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)-a federal program designed to better prepare middle and high school students for college through mentoring programs, scholarships, and new academic preparation and awareness programs for students and parents. In Spring 2011, GEAR UP awarded sub grants to 29 school districts, serving over 33,000 students. With a focus on training educators to adopt classroom strategies proven to help students learn more effectively, GEAR UP provided 19 professional development workshops for 600 participants during the first six months of In Fall 2011, GEAR UP was awarded its third consecutive federal grant. Phase III of the grant targets education and direct student services locally to 24 rural school districts and 21,170 students. It helps make Oklahoma communities more of a college-bound population by providing activities, services and information to strengthen classroom learning and student achievement, empower educators and community leaders and educate students and families. Since 2005 in schools served by GEAR UP, assessments at the 8th and 10 th grade level designed to gauge college and career readiness have steadily improved, especially for minority students, resulting in a narrowing in the achievement gap for these students. Parental involvement in GEAR UP communities has also increased. GEAR UP's Parent Leadership Academy has provided training for 133 parents to complete local school projects providing much-needed programs and supplies to help student improve academic achievement. 166

5 Legislation passed in 2005 established a college preparatory track with strengthened graduation requirements and made it the default curriculum. The new high school graduation standard requiring satisfactory completion of end-of-instruction tests becomes effective for those graduating in Spring FINDINGS: 41,117 students enrolled in at least one developmental education course in : 2.5 percent (1,012 students) at the research universities, 18.5 percent (7,593 students) at the regional universities, and 79.1 percent (32,512 students) at the community colleges. (Figure 1) Of Fall 2010 first-time freshmen, 41.9 percent enrolled in developmental education courses. (Figure 2) Of Fall 2010 first-time freshmen who did not meet the OSRHE 15-unit high school core curriculum, 52.6 percent enrolled in developmental education courses, compared to 25.7 percent of freshmen who completed the high school core curriculum. (Figure 3) Developmental education by subject for Fall 2010 first-time freshmen was as follows: 34.7 percent mathematics, 18.6 percent English, 14.0 percent reading, and 1.0 percent science. (Figure 4) From to , the developmental education rate for first-time freshmen direct from Oklahoma high schools decreased from 36.5 to 35.7 percent. The rate of 35.7 percent is lower than the 41.9 percent for all first-time freshmen. (Figure 5) Older freshmen require more developmental education. During the academic year, a higher percentage of first-time freshmen 21 years of age and older (57.2 percent) enrolled in developmental education courses than freshmen less than 21 years of age (37.8 percent). (Figure 6) A study of eight cohorts of first-time freshmen indicates that math developmental education increases the chances of success in college algebra. (Figure 7) In , Oklahoma State System institutions generated $3.46 million from student-paid developmental education course fees. CONCLUSIONS: The reforms in developmental education anticipated for 2013 should result in more students retained in the higher education system through better targeted rapid learning, with reduced time to degree. Community colleges continue to be the primary source of developmental education in the State System. This is consistent with the community college s mission. Relatively high secondary test pass rates for English and reading indicate a need to examine the appropriateness of cut scores for ACT subjects and secondary tests. Colleges and universities are encouraged to continue monitoring the relationship between cut scores for course placement, developmental education effectiveness and the academic success of the developmental students. Students enrolling soon after high school (17 to 20 year-olds) are less likely to need developmental education than students 21 years of age and older (37.8 and 57.2 percent, respectively). 167

6 Recent economic conditions have resulted in large increases in enrollment at regional universities and community colleges. Since most of these students probably did not plan on attending college they were ill-prepared. The financial costs associated with developmental education are small in comparison to total higher education budgets and are negligible when compared to the alternatives, which can range from falling levels of degree attainment to employment in low paying jobs. 168

7 FIGURE 1 Tier Distribution of Oklahoma Students Taking Developmental Education Courses FIGURE 2 Percent of First-Time Freshmen Enrolled in Developmental Education Courses 169

8 FIGURE 3 Percent of Developmental Education and High School Core Curriculum FIGURE 4 Percent of First-Time Freshmen Enrolled in Developmental Courses by Subject 170

9 FIGURE 5 Percent of All First-Time Freshmen and Fall First-Time Freshmen Direct from Oklahoma High Schools Enrolled in Developmental Education Fall 2001 to Fall 2010 FIGURE 6 Percent of First-Time Freshmen Enrolled in Developmental Education Courses by Age Fall 2001 to Fall

10 FIGURE 7 Average Grade and Pass Rate Comparison of Developmental and Non-Developmental Education Student Success in College Algebra by Cohort Years to