Publications
The Role of Higher Education in High School Math Reform
Based on interviews with educators who are rethinking and revising secondary math coursework, this report describes the role of higher education in influencing high school math reform nationally and in three particular states.
The Effects of Corequisite Remediation: Evidence From a Statewide Reform in Tennessee
This paper provides the first causal evidence on a system-wide corequisite reform, using data from all 13 community colleges affiliated with the Tennessee Board of Regents.
How Lesson Study Facilitated the Adoption of New Teaching Practices in a Community College Quantitative Reasoning Course
This article describes how lesson study—a structured, collaborative professional development intervention—encouraged developmental mathematics faculty at three community colleges to implement new approaches to instruction.
Lessons From Two Experimental Studies of Multiple Measures Assessment
This CAPR brief describes two recent experimental studies of multiple measures assessment, in which colleges use measures beyond placement test scores to determine students’ college readiness.
Catastrophe or Catalyst? Reflections on COVID’s Impact on Community Colleges
This essay discusses how students and community colleges responded to the pandemic and what their experiences reveal about inequities in higher education.
Increasing Gatekeeper Course Completion: Three-Semester Findings From an Experimental Study of Multiple Measures Assessment and Placement
This report describes findings from a random assignment study examining the implementation, cost, and efficacy of multiple measures assessments for placing students into college-level or developmental courses.
Measuring STEM Momentum: Early Indicators of STEM Transfer Success for Community College Students
Drawing on findings from a study of postsecondary college transcript and degree records, this brief describes metrics that may be useful in assessing efforts to improve STEM transfer outcomes.
Using Guided Pathways to Build Cross-Sector Pathways Partnerships
Based on fieldwork at four guided pathways colleges, this report introduces a cross-sector pathways model and highlights emerging practices and strategies that community colleges are using to build stronger connections with employers, universities, and K-12 schools.
Patterns of Community College Use Among Working Adults
This brief describes results from a nationally representative survey of American workers aged 24–64 to learn what training providers they have used and what their experiences have been with these providers.
Toward a Practical Set of STEM Transfer Program Momentum Metrics
Drawing on administrative records from transfer-intending community college starters across three states, this paper develops a set of early STEM momentum metrics that are useful indicators of subsequent STEM transfer and bachelor’s degree attainment.
The Implementation and Outcomes of Lesson Study in Community College Mathematics
This report describes a project undertaken by CCRC, Education Northwest, and three Oregon community colleges to adapt lesson study for use among faculty teaching a precollege (developmental) quantitative literacy course.
How to Achieve More Equitable Community College Student Outcomes: Lessons From Six Years of CCRC Research on Guided Pathways
This report describes how CCRC’s thinking about guided pathways has evolved since the publication of Redesigning America’s Community Colleges in 2015.
Committing to Instructional Improvement in an Era of Community College Reform
This article argues that by tying instructional improvement efforts to ongoing reforms, colleges may be able to take advantage of structures and mechanisms employed by the reform to make teaching an institutional priority.
A Role for Disciplinary Societies in Supporting Community College Adjunct Faculty
This article establishes the importance of adjunct faculty in supporting student success, describes the experiences of adjunct faculty, and offers suggestions for disciplinary societies that seek to meet the needs of adjunct faculty.
How Ohio Community Colleges Are Using Guided Pathways to Personalize Student Support
This report examines how Ohio community colleges—which have been engaged in guided pathways reform for several years—are innovating within the model to provide scaled, personalized support to help students gain early academic momentum.
Strategies for Improving Postsecondary Credential Attainment Among Black, Hispanic, and Native American Adults
This set of three studies examines what states and community colleges can do 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.
Strengthening Community College Workforce Training
This brief describes the substantial role community colleges play in workforce education, what innovative colleges are doing to improve programming and labor market outcomes for participants, and how the federal government can support these efforts.
Happy Together? The Peer Effects of Dual Enrollment Students on Community College Student Outcomes
Using administrative data from a large state community college system, this paper examines whether being exposed to a higher percentage of dual enrollment peers influences non-dual enrollment enrollees’ performance in college courses.
Five Years Later: Technology and Advising Redesign at Early Adopter Colleges
This brief discusses the experiences, achievements, and challenges of 26 broad-access two- and four-year colleges that, in 2015, began steps to adopt or enhance technology-mediated advising practices to improve the way they support students.
Investing in Student Success at Community Colleges: Lessons From Research on Guided Pathways
This brief discusses why whole-college, guided pathways reforms hold promise for improving student success on a large scale, what they cost, and how the federal government can support their adoption.