Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Anderson, T., Kuehn, D., Eyster, L., Barnow, B., & Lerman, R. I. (2017). New evidence on integrated career pathways: Final impact report for Accelerating Opportunity. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Accelerating Opportunity (AO) program on education, earnings, and employment outcomes in four states. This summary contains the findings from Kentucky.
- The authors used a nonexperimental design to compare education, earnings, and employment outcomes of AO participants to a matched comparison group.
- The study found AO participants were significantly more likely to earn a credential, earn more credentials, earn more college credits, and were likely to earn more than 12 credits than the comparison group. AO participants also had a significantly higher employment rate, but also lower earnings compared to the comparison group.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this study is moderate because it was based on a well-implemented nonexperimental design. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Accelerating Opportunity program, but other factors might also have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Accelerating Opportunity (AO) program
Features of the Intervention
The Accelerating Opportunity (AO) program was developed to provide adults without a high school diploma or equivalency the pathway to enroll in career-training in community colleges. The program’s goal was to develop or revise programming to focus on career pathways. These pathways included sequenced courses and training that allowed students to earn credentials in highly needed fields. The total duration of the program was 12 credits and was designed to be completed in one year or less. The program also included team teaching by basic skills and Career and Technical Education (CTE) instructors; student support; accelerated learning; connections to the labor market; and contextualized instruction.
Features of the Study
The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of students who participated in the AO program to students who did not participate. The authors matched AO participants to similar nonparticipants using propensity scores developed from baseline demographic and outcome information. Study participants included 1,356 students in the treatment group and 18,547 in the comparison group. Using data from the Kentucky adult education program data system, college data system, and the unemployment insurance earnings records, the authors conducted statistical models to examine differences in outcomes. The outcomes included number of credits earned, earning more than 12 credits, earning a credential, number of credentials earned, and employment and earnings in the 12 quarters following enrollment.
Findings
Education and skills gain
- The study found that AO participation significantly increased the number of credits earned by 4.3 credits, which is 30% more than students in the comparison group. Moreover, AO students were significantly more likely to earn more than 12 credits than students in the comparison group (54.7% versus 39.3%).
- The study found that credential attainment was significantly higher for AO students (33.6%) than students in the comparison group (14.3%), and AO students significantly earned 78% more credentials than students in the comparison group.
Earnings and wages
- The study found that AO participants’ quarterly earnings were significantly lower than those in the comparison group for 5 of the 12 quarters.
Employment
- The study found that AO participants’ employment rates were significantly higher than those in the comparison group for quarters 2-10 and 12.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this study is moderate because it was based on a well-implemented nonexperimental design. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Accelerating Opportunity program in Kentucky, but other factors might also have contributed.