Match Made!
Retention Strategies and Data
Analysis Together for a Brighter
Future
Susan Sportsman, PhD,
RN, ANEF, FAAN
Director, Academic Consulting Group
Elsevier Education Services
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The Educator’s Dream
• Students
§
§
Well prepared
Motivated
• Student Outcomes
§
§
Clearly defined
Connected to reality
• Curriculum
§
§
Well constructed
Teaching-learning resources
that encourage student
engagement
• Predictive student evaluation
processes
• Consistent remediation
processes and resources
Admission Policies
Prediction of Success
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Methods to Predict Students who will be
Successful
• Grades in Previous
Academic
Programs/Courses
• Admission Scores on
Predictive Tests
• Student
Desire/Motivation
§
§
§
§
Student Essays
Past Experiences
Interviews
Recommendations
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Traditional Students: High School
Predictors of Success in College
• Less than 10% absences in HS; No more than one failure in 9th
grade
• Successfully completing Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and Trig or
higher
• 3.0 HS GPA
• SAT: 1550; English-15, Reading-17, Math-19, & Science-21
• ACT scores; English-18, Math-22, Reading-21 and Science- 24
• College Knowledge: Participation in summer bridge programs,
school year transition programs, senior early assessment and
intervention programs; Dual enrollment participation
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• Delayed enrollments
• Attends part time
• Works full time (35 hrs. or
more/ /week)
• Financially independent
(financial aid)
• Has dependents other
than a spouse
• Single parent
• GED
National Center for
Educational Statistics
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Admissions: Conflicting Values
• Fill the seats and
• Insure:
§
§
§
Low attrition
High graduation rates
Successful completion of
licensing/certification examinations
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“Just admit the
smart
students!”
An anonymous University
President
It is easier to predict who will
pass than it is to predict those
that fail
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The Problem with Admission Criteria
• There is no one criteria or
test score that will
guarantee that students
are successful.
• Success in various
disciplines vary
depending upon the
competencies needed in
the discipline.
• Concern about personal
biases
Nursing Education Consortium for
East Texas Region 4
• Lack of reading comprehension was the best
predictor of a student being off track or out of the
program (p= <.0001)
• Entrance Exam composite scores (p=.027) and
Grades in A & P (p= .005) were effective in
reducing the attrition rate (p=.002)
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HESI Admission Assessment (A 2)
• English – 150 Minutes
§
§
§
Reading Comprehension
Vocabulary and General
Knowledge
Grammar
• Math – 50 Minutes
• Science – 75 Minutes
§
§
§
§
Anatomy & Physiology
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
• Learner Profile – 30 Minutes
§
§
Personality Profile
Learning Style
v Option to administer one or all
of the exams
v Can add a Critical Thinking
component
v Research provides insight into
best practices for use of A2 in
terms of admissions
Standardized Admission
Assessment Tests
Whitepaper: Inverso, T., Leach, A.,
Weber, C., (2015) Starting Off Right:
The Successful Nursing Candidate
http://academicconsulting.elsevier.com/resources_
whitepapers.php
| 13
What Admission Criteria will minimize
attrition rate?
1. Literature provides some
clues
2. Interview students who drop
or fail
3. Review admission policies of
benchmark schools
4. Review program’s attrition
rate over several cohorts
using:
§
§
§
Selected GPA
Various scores on the
standardized admission tests
Program course.
Preventing Attrition by
Providing Remediation
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Who is going to pass?
Preventing
Attrition
Who, Why,
When, What,
How,
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Who are the students at risk?
• At the low end of
acceptable admission
criteria
• History of academic failure
• Emotional or behavioral
problems
• Associated with lowachieving peers
• Lack of psychological
attachment to school
• Other non-academic
commitments
• Failure of tests or courses
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When are candidates for remediation
identified?
• At the time of admission
• Failing a Faculty-Made Test
• Not meeting the benchmark for standardized tests
Early Alert System
• Faculty Driven or
• Remediation Specialist
A PROCESS IS
CRITICAL
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Why?
Active &
Collaborative
Learning
Adapted from
McClenney, et. al.(2001)
Student &
Faculty
Interaction
Level of
Academic
Challenge
Student
Engagement
Supportive
Campus
Environment
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What? The Remediation Process
Poor Understanding of Content,
resulting from a variety of
causes
• Review of Faculty-made
tests
• Review of Standardized
Tests
Address underlying
causes: Financial,
Emotional, Behavioral,
Familial, etc.
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Administering a Standardized Test
• ACG White Paper: Brunnert, K. (2013) Best Practices in
Proctoring HESI Tests
• Preparing the Students
• Admission to the Examination
• Testing Policy
• During the Examination
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Standardized Testing: Specialty,
Course Specific, & Exit Exams
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Personalized Remediation for Each
Student
§ Personalized electronic content from textbooks
§ Students receive customized feedback on topics
answered incorrectly and detailed analyses to help
performance on subsequent exams
§ Remediation include:
§ Media clips
§ Self-assessment questions related to topic areas
§ Hyper-links to case studies
25
Adaptive Learning
• Educational method which uses computers as
interactive teaching devices
• Computers adapt the presentation of educational
material according to students’ learning needs, as
indicated by their responses to questions and tasks
Rationale:
• A one-size-fits-all approach is not beneficial to all
students
• Using technology, you can track their progress,
time spent on task, etc.
ACG White Paper: Sportsman, S., (2014) Adaptive
Learning in Nursing Education.
26
Adaptive Learning
• When tools are used correctly:
§
§
§
§
Goodbye, numerous PPT slides
So long, multi-hour lectures
See ya later, unknown knowledge deficits
Farewell, long tutoring hours
27
Memory
• Lasting memory requires 3 types of memory processes that
build upon each other:
§ Sensory: uses the 5 senses to retain a memory for a brief
period of time
§ Short-term: (working memory) holds a small amount of
information (typically 7 items or less) in a readily available state
for 10-15 seconds to a minute
§ Long-term: information storage over a long period of time
• Goal of Education: Structure learning activities that present
learners with appropriate sensory and short-term memories
and to encourage consolidation of these memories into longterm memory
• Adaptive learning encourages consolidation
Sensory
Memory
Shortterm
Memory
Longterm
Memory
Consolidation
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Adaptive Learning
Adapts to various
learners
Moves them towards
competencies
Analytics & Data
29
Students learn at their own pace online or via mobile app
Goes beyond simple knowledge recognition to a level of information
maintenance and retention that creates usable knowledge students can apply
to real-world settings
30
Concepts are introduced in a fun and
engaging way
Students will become more effective learners with the cognitive skills required
for self-paced learning.
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Students can monitor their own progress
Elsevier Adaptive Learning monitors and predicts each students individual
learning and retention while telling each student what, when, and how long to
study
Students can concentrate time and efforts on topics that prove most
challenging based on individual performance
32
Faculty can monitor their class
Data on individual knowledge usage and retention at the course and item level
allows educators to identify students in need of additional help.
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Problems Associated with Poor
Performance and Attrition
Test Anxiety
• Early Group intervention
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§
§
§
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How to study
How to think critically
Test-Taking Strategies
Test Reviews
Practice Critical Thinking
• Individual intervention
§
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Counselors
Medical Intervention
Evaluation of
effectiveness
Remediation: How?
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Criteria for an Effective Remediation
Program
• Assignment to process
based on data
• Well defined process
• Responsible person(s)
identified
• Consequences
associated
• Timely
• Results documented and
evaluated.
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A Word about Cheating….
Ambrose, M., Mee, C. (2013) Designing a Test Policy: The
Foundation for Curricular Excellence.
http://academicconsulting.elsevier.com/resources_whitepapers.php
| 37
“According to OpenStudy’s
experience, cheating is any
work done with others that
the professor has made
clear shouldn’t be worked
on together.” (Lancaster, 2010)
According to some students,
texting a friend with answers
during a test is not cheating.
(Kharback, 2012)
Remember the Dream?
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Faculty Focused
• Student Outcomes
§ Clearly defined
§ Connected to reality
• Curriculum
§ Well constructed
§ Teaching-learning resources that
encourage student engagement
• Predictive student evaluation processes
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Remediation for the Curriculum
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Are course objectives congruent
with program outcomes?
• Similar content
• Blooms’
Taxonomy
• Practice Based
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Validity of Curriculum
• Represents practice environment
• Meets professional standards
How can you tell?
Review faculty made tests (test blue print)
§ Review aggregate results of standardized tests
against benchmark
§
Data from Curricular Review
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Data from curriculum
review should be used
to revise objectives,
curriculum, teaching
learning strategies,
student evaluation and
remediation processes
=
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Barriers to Accomplishing the Dream?
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References
Baum, S., Ma, J., & Payea, K. (2010). Education pays 2010: The benefits of higher education for individual
and society. New York, NY: College Board.
Belfield, C., Crosta, P. (2012- Predicting Success in College: The Importance of Placement Tests and High
School Transcripts. CCRC Working Paper No. 42. Community College Research Center. February
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED529827.pdf Last accessed, September, 2015
Hein, V., Smerdon, B, Sambold, M. (2013) Predictors of Postsecondary Success. College and Career
Readiness Center. American Institutes for Research Nov.
http://www.ccrscenter.org/sites/default/files/CCRS%20Center_Predictors%20of%20Postsecondary%20Succ
ess_final_0.pdf Last accessed, September, 2015
Kharback, M. (2012). How cellphone facilitates cheating. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning.
Retrieved from: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/05/how-cellphone-facilitatecheating.htm.
Lancaster, O.W. (2010). The definition of cheating, Openstudy. Retrieved from
http://blog.openstudy.com/2010/08/10/the-definition-of-cheating.
McClenney, K., Marti, C.N., & Adkins, C.(2001) Student Engagement and Student Outcomes: Key Findings
from CCSSE Validation Research. Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at
Austin. http://www.ccsse.org/aboutsurvey/docs/CCSSE%20Validation%20Summary.pdf Last accessed,
September, 2015.
Thank you for your time and attention!