M A R C H 1 9 , 2 0 1 4

USING DATA TO INFORM PROGRAM DESIGN

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Call-in number is (415) 655-0053 and access code is 911-985-160.

To submit live questions, click on the “Questions” panel, type your question, and click “Send”

Presentation materials and audio will be posted at www.cacollegepathways.org

GETTING STARTED

Community colleges can pull an automatic data report through CalPASS Plus

4-year universities who participate in CalPASS Plus can access a report by providing a cohort file to CalPASS Plus

4-year universities not participating in CalPASS Plus should work with campus Institutional Research Department to generate data

Visit www.cacollegepathways.org/data-resources for detailed resources

KATHY BOOTH

AGENDA

Making the case: why data is all the rage and why this is a good thing for practitioners and service providers

Making it real: examples of data points you could look at and what you could

do with this information

Making it work: tips for working with data

WHY THE FOCUS ON DATA?

Shift from activities to outcomes helps put the focus on foster youth

Increasing availability of data means more opportunities to understand what happens to your students and clients

Funding reductions accelerated the focus on “return on investment”

DATA IS THE DOORWAY TO INQUIRY

• Embedded classroom assessments• Student interviews, focus groups, and surveys• Affective as well as academic information• Seeing how others address similar problems

Quantitative numbers show you where to start digging with qualitative tools like:

While the emphasis on outcomes might seem to be numbers-focused, the answers aren’t always there.

WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT?

It’s messy—data analysis always results in more questions

It’s flawed—because practitioners have had little access to data to check for accuracy, there are likely to be errors

It’s sobering—you can see just how big the barriers to success are

It’s exciting—it can renew your passion for your work

WHAT COULD I GAIN?

Reduced isolation—you can use data to break down the silos within your institution and across service providers

Additional insights—not only will you better understand barriers to success, you’ll know where you are making a difference

Better bargaining power—you can use the data to make the case for changes to policy or access to resources

SNAPSHOT ONE: SEEING THE WHOLE PIPELINE

For foster youth at College X:

72% take remedial math, English, or ESL

27% take college-level math

21% take college-level English

39% get financial aid

72% have an educational plan

15% go into career & technical education

28% get a degree or certificate

29% enroll in college within a year of graduating from high school

SNAPSHOT ONE: COLLEGE READINESS

Take a closer look: 72% take remedial math, English, or ESL

27% take college-level math

21% take college-level English

What does this tell us? Most students do not start in college-level math or English when they enter

What questions could you ask? Social Services: How could students be alerted about the importance of

preparing for college assessment tests?

High Schools: How could the curriculum be better aligned to prepare students for college-level work?

Colleges: Could test prep opportunities be offered to foster youth?

SNAPSHOT ONE: FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Take a closer look: 39% get financial aid

72% have an educational plan

29% enroll in college within a year of graduating from high school

What does this tell us? Most students are getting some sort of counseling when they enter, but after a

gap in their education and few are accessing financial supports

What questions could you ask? Social Services: Could more focus be put on helping students identify financial

aid options?

High Schools: Would having students fill out the FAFSA while still in high school make them better able to afford going to college right away?

Colleges: How could ed planning sessions be paired with financial aid advising?

SNAPSHOT ONE: PROGRAMS OF STUDY

Take a closer look: 72% have an educational plan 15% go into career & technical education 28% get a degree or certificate

What does this tell us? Most students appear to be establishing a clear direction for their studies Students are pursuing degrees, rather than career & technical education certificates Very few students are making it through

What questions could you ask? Social Services: Could students be informed about stackable certificates that would

enable students to get a living wage while preparing for further study in that pathway? High Schools: What types of preparation might help foster youth persist once they

make it to college? Colleges: Is there a pattern to when students drop out that points to a needed

intervention?

SNAPSHOT TWO: GROWING A SUCCESS

For foster youth at College Y:

44% take remedial math, English, or ESL

28% take college-level math

62% take college-level English

78% get financial aid

62% have an educational plan

4% go into career & technical education

57% get a degree or certificate

18% enroll in college within a year of graduating from high school

SNAPSHOT TWO: COLLEGE READINESS

Take a closer look: 44% take remedial math, English, or ESL

28% take college-level math

62% take college-level English

What does this tell us? Many students are ready for college-level content

Students are much less likely to take remedial English than math

What questions could you ask? Social Services: Could child welfare agencies partner with FYS, K-12 districts, and

colleges to expand college preparatory offerings?

High Schools: How is content aligned with K-12 in English? Are there lessons that could be shared with math?

Colleges: What practices seem to help foster youth prepare for college-level math the most? How could those be expanded?

SNAPSHOT TWO: FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Take a closer look: 78% get financial aid

18% enroll in college within a year of graduating from high school

What does this tell us? While most students experience a gap in their education, the majority

are accessing financial supports once they get there

What questions could you ask? Social Services/High Schools: Are there strong practices that help foster

youth access financial aid while still in high school? How could these programs be expanded to help more students go straight to college?

Colleges: How is financial aid advising structured once they get to college? How could this approach be adapted so that all foster youth have the opportunity to apply for aid?

SNAPSHOT TWO: PROGRAMS OF STUDY

Take a closer look: 62% have an educational plan 4% go into career & technical education 57% get a degree or certificate

What does this tell us? Most students appear to be establishing a clear direction for their studies Students are pursuing degrees, rather than career & technical education certificates The majority of students are making it through

What questions could you ask? Social Services/High Schools: How could college advising practices be built upon so that

more students have the opportunity to create an education plan while still in high school?

Colleges: What types of degrees are students pursuing, where are they most successful, and what types of supports do they have to help them reach that goal? How could those practices be shared with programs that have lower completion rates?

TIP: UNDERSTAND YOUR DATA

If you are gathering comprehensive program-level outcomes for the first time, your peers are likely to be curious about

how these metrics were derived.

Partner with someone who is familiar with the data to be able to explain who is included in each metrics and where

the numbers come from.

TIP: IDENTIFY DATA COLLECTION PROBLEMS

Some institutions may suffer from poor quality data entry practices that miscode or fail to count critical information.

If the figures seem off-base, it may be helpful to track how these numbers get coded and collected and determine if there is a way to make the process more accurate.

TIP: MIND THE GAP

Sometimes outcomes, particularly in areas where there has been little access to data in the past, can be surprising.

It can be helpful to examine what you have based your assumptions on, the sources of this information, and ways that you could gather further information to better understand student outcomes.

Startling numbers may not be evidence of data entry problems.

TIP: GO STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE

Foster youth who can clarify the nature of the problem or weigh in on a proposed program focus

Internal stakeholders who are likely to affect actions you’d like to take

External partners who can offer insights into both problems and potential solutions

Whenever possible, run your assumptions by others, whether this be:

TIP: DON’T GET DISCOURAGED

Sometimes the figures—especially regarding

degree attainment—can be daunting.

Remember to look at the bright spots and not just at the disappointing

figures

Don’t try to remedy everything—pick a

discrete area of focus where you can focus

your efforts

Think about where you have an ability to make a change and

get started there

TIP: MAKE A MAP

Identify where you would need to focus your efforts –and with whom—to make the reality more like the ideal

Draw what the ideal pathway might be like—starting from a successful outcome and including external partners

Put the data points you have on these pathways

First draw what those pathways might be like right now

One way to get a handle on the information is to think about the pathways foster youth take through your institution:

TIP: MAKE DATA YOUR ALLY

Think about ways you can use this information to be a stronger advocate for foster youth:

Show decision-makers the scale of the problem you want to solve

Use hard numbers to back up the stories you’ve been telling for years

Bring equity issues to the forefront by clarifying how outcomes differ by factors like socio-economic status, race, and gender

TIP: REMEMBER YOUR AREN’T ALONE

Think about ways that data can help you build bridges:

Who else would be motivated to take action by these numbers?

Who else can help to improve outcomes?

What issues might you have in common with these potential

partners?

PLACES TO GET SUPPORT

Milestone & Momentum Points and How to Access Data Through CalPASS Plus: http://www.cacollegepathways.org/data-resources

Getting to Good Data recorded webinar: http://www.cacollegepathways.org/training-material-files/?event_reference=486

Website with numerous tools on using data for decisions: http://datafordecisions.wested.org/

Debbie Raucher, John Burton Foundation: debbie@johnburtonfoundation.org

All materials to be posted at: www.cacollegepathways.org