Evaluation of the College Access Network
In 2019, New Tech Network (NTN) started the College Access Network with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal of this network was to help more students, especially students from groups that have historically had lower rates of college enrollment (e.g., low-income students, Latino students), find and apply to colleges that match their abilities and interests. The program began with 11 high schools in three districts in Texas. Coaches from NTN worked with school teams—made up of administrators, counselors, and teachers—to identify and address the problems students faced when planning for life after high school.
Evaluation of the Network
To better understand how the College Access Network was working and how it was making a difference, NTN teamed up with AIR to study the first group of schools in the network. This study involved interviews and focus groups with coaches, school staff, and students to learn about what was working well and what challenges they faced. AIR shared the study’s findings regularly with NTN to help them make improvements.
In the spring of 2022, AIR also looked at survey data from high school seniors to learn about their college plans and attitudes. Finally, using records from the school districts, AIR studied whether Latino students in the College Access Network were more likely to graduate from high school or go to college compared to similar students in nearby districts.
AIR also examined data collected from high school seniors in spring 2022 to inform NTN and participating schools about students’ college-going behaviors and attitudes. Finally, using district administrative records, AIR conducted an impact study to determine whether Latino students attending schools associated with the College Access Network were more likely to graduate from high school or enroll and persist in college than similar students attending a neighboring school district.
Key Findings
Results of the impact study suggest that the College Access Network had a significant positive impact on high school graduation (particularly for male Latino students and Latino students who were not classified as English learners), but differences in college enrollment and persistence in college did not achieve statistical significance for the overall sample of Latino students, for English learners, or for students from low-income families.
Through the implementation study, school staff and students provided several suggestions for maximizing the effectiveness of college advisory programs such as the College Access Network:
- Start introducing the college application process at lower grade levels. Although the College Access Network was designed to focus on students starting in Grade 11, students thought that many activities (such as college fairs) would have been helpful for ninth-grade students.
- Engage families deeply in the college-planning process. Staff indicated that they needed greater support in creating more culturally responsive informational materials and messaging for families.
- Address socioeconomic challenges of college enrollment. Schools may need to increase the focus on helping students and families identify ways to fund college, for example, by identifying scholarship opportunities and providing multiple engagement points to assist families in filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®).
- Provide appropriate resources and staffing for college access efforts. School teams mentioned both financial and human capital constraints on full implementation of college readiness initiatives, including staff time to plan and organize activities for students. Respondents shared that they would require a greater investment in terms of funding and staffing to achieve more progress in improving college access at their campuses.
- Shift school-wide mindsets to focus on equitable student outcomes. School-wide professional development or information sharing may be necessary to push administrators and other school staff to focus on the outcomes of students who are “at the margins,” rather than being content with the successful outcomes of students whom they view as more “college ready.”
