Teacher residencies are surfacing as a promising model for teacher preparation. One such residency program--Collaboration and Reflection to Enhance Atlanta Teacher Effectiveness (CREATE)--seeks to raise student achievement in local high-needs schools by increasing the effectiveness and retention of both new and veteran educators. CREATE aims to…

Learning communities are a high impact activity that can influence students' likelihood for success. Colorado State University (CSU) created the Key Communities (Key) program, which is open to all students but targets students that have persistently lower graduation and retention rates. The majority of Key students are under-represented…

This ex post facto study evaluated Achieving a College Education (ACE) Plus program, a credit-based transition program between a high school district and a community college. Achieving a College Education Plus is an early outreach program. It is designed to aid at-risk students in graduating from high school and making a smooth transition to…

College graduation rates often lag behind college attendance rates. One theory as to why students do not complete college is that they lack key information about how to be successful or fail to act on the information that they have. We present evidence from a randomized experiment which tests the effectiveness of individualized student coaching.…

Researchers investigated the impact that a first-year college experience course had on students' first-year grade point averages (GPAs) and retention rates. A sample of 109 first-year students enrolled in the course was compared to a sample of 326 students from the same university who had not taken the course. The goals of the experience course…

The present study utilizes a multilevel approach to assess the effects of four different types of intervention on college student retention, focusing on the interaction effects between the student characteristics and the types of intervention. The program effects on a 3-year trend are also explored. The findings of the present study reveal that…

In 2011, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) received an Investing in Innovation (i3) Grant through the U.S. Department of Education. UAF applied for the grant to expand the predominantly rural-serving Alaska Statewide Mentor Project (ASMP) to urban settings. ASMP is a professional development initiative that supplies fully released, highly…

One way to improve struggling schools' access to effective teachers is to use selective transfer incentives. Such incentives offer bonuses for the highest-performing teachers to move into schools serving the most disadvantaged students. In this report, we provide evidence from a randomized experiment that tested whether such a policy intervention…

While postsecondary completion rates are a concern among many student populations across the country, college graduation rates for Latino students, especially Latino male students, are even lower than the national average. Low-income Latino men face many barriers to postsecondary success, including both financial and personal obstacles. This…

This study compared two approaches to a first-year seminar, special academic theme vs. college transition theme, to determine if one approach was more effective in terms of one-year retention rates, first-year grade point averages (GPAs), and student perceptions of the course experience and outcomes. Participants included 177 first-semester,…

This study contributes to the body of research that is attempting to uncover what student characteristics and university programs and policies are predictive of student persistence and graduation. Loss of student enrollments through attrition prior to graduation and low graduation rates have significant negative consequences for universities and…

In 2010, Hillsborough Community College (HCC), a large multicampus institution in Tampa, Florida, worked with MDRC to create the Mathematics Access Performance Scholarship (MAPS) program to help academically underprepared community college students succeed in developmental math. MAPS provides an incentive for low-income students referred to…

There are many approaches to solving the problem of underrepresentation of some racial and ethnic groups and women in scientific and technical disciplines. Here, the authors evaluate the association of a summer bridge program with the graduation rate of underrepresented minority (URM) students at a selective technical university. They demonstrate…

In 2007, using funds from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) and private foundations, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began piloting its version of a schoolwide reform model called the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). Under the TAP model, teachers can earn extra pay and take on increased responsibilities through promotion (to mentor…

First-year seminars have become common at liberal arts and other colleges across the United States. An accumulating body of research appears to demonstrate that this curricular element is associated with increased retention of students and is positively correlated with graduation rates, student adjustment and involvement, student satisfaction,…