Bringing Multiple Measures Assessment to Scale in Arkansas: Perspectives from State Education Leaders

By Ellen Wasserman

Back view of large group of high school students on a class in the classroom.

A growing number of states and colleges are using multiple measures assessment (MMA) to determine which students are ready for college-level courses and which students may need some remediation. In this blog, three state leaders discuss Arkansas’s adoption and scaling of MMA; their stories provide informative examples for other states that are considering doing the same.

MMA uses measures such as high school GPA, course-taking patterns (e.g., the number and level of subject-specific courses completed), noncognitive assessments, and other indicators of achievement to evaluate students’ preparation for and likelihood of success in college-level courses. It is an alternative to relying exclusively on standardized placement tests. A rigorous evaluation of MMA in several State University of New York (SUNY) community colleges found that students who would have taken developmental courses under a test-based system were much more likely to enroll in and complete college-level math and English when placed in college-level courses via MMA. Along with the SUNY study, CAPR researchers launched an MMA implementation and cost study in Arkansas and Texas.

The Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) had found that restricting access to college-level courses was often a barrier that students could not overcome. Throughout the state, a high percentage of students were placed into remedial courses, even students who had achieved a 3.0 high school GPA. Many students were not persisting through or completing what were often multi-semester developmental education course sequences. Remedial coursework had a negative impact on statewide retention rates as some students gave up on their educational goals. Based on the growing body of research on MMA, state leaders recognized that an MMA placement system had the potential to reduce the number of students placed into stand-alone developmental courses and increase access to corequisite or college-level courses.

The decentralized state system in Arkansas affords colleges the flexibility to design and implement placement practices specific to their student populations and local settings. Since 2017, colleges had been allowed to use a variety of placement measures that more accurately predict student success; however, most colleges continued to use a single placement measure, generally a standardized test. There was no specific guidance for using high school GPA in placement decisions, and few colleges integrated high school information into their placement systems.

In 2021, Arkansas Community Colleges (ACC)—an association representing all 22 comprehensive public community and technical colleges in Arkansas—and ADHE began working with CAPR on the implementation and cost study, which provided technical support to colleges in Arkansas and Texas to design, implement, and increase the use of MMA. Six colleges in Arkansas, including Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC), participated in the study.

The Community College Perspective

At NWACC, there was great interest in reforming the placement system so more students could enroll directly into credit-bearing courses.

“We dug through the data, then we saw that the sooner students got into those credit-bearing classes, the more likely they were to persist and to continue,” said Ricky Tompkins, formerly the vice president of learning and chief academic officer at NWACC and now the director of the Center for Student Success at ACC.

Several faculty members drove changes in English placement that led to the adoption of MMA, he said. They spearheaded the effort to use measures other than standardized tests, such as writing samples and other assessments, to place students into college-level courses.

“This was something that faculty saw in their classrooms,” Tompkins said. “They had high-achieving students that could do the work, but because of placement issues, they were sitting in a developmental class.” NWACC eventually adopted MMA for both English and math placement, resulting in more students being placed into corequisite courses than into prerequisites.

When Tompkins transitioned to ACC, he saw the need for placement changes on a statewide basis but also the need for reform to be locally driven because of the different missions of the institutions in the state.

“What I saw is that the principles [of MMA] work, regardless of the size of the institution,” he said.

For a transcript of the video, click here.

A Statewide Initiative

 In his role at ACC, Tompkins partnered closely with Mason Campbell, ADHE chief academic officer, and Tracy Harrell, ADHE chief program development officer, as well as with CAPR researchers on the study. Together the organizations guided participating colleges through the process of transitioning to or expanding the use of MMA.

Years of research had led to an evolution in MMA models to rely mostly or exclusively on high school GPA as a multifaceted indicator of students’ ability to succeed in college-level courses. While data from studies in other states supported the use of GPA as a primary predictor of student success, institutional leaders in Arkansas desired more evidence. An analysis of Arkansas data at the beginning of the study showed the same trends as the national studies and provided the evidence needed for a multiple measures approach based primarily on GPA.

“Having research that dealt with our students from our institutions … built some trust with our institutions,” Harrell said. “We’re optimistic that [colleges are] now adjusting and taking this a little more seriously.”

ADHE collaborated with CAPR researchers to develop guidance for the use of high school GPA as an indicator of students’ readiness for college-level coursework. The Arkansas Placement Guidance, released by ACC and ADHE in 2023, recommends a GPA of 2.5 for college-level English and math placement used alone or in combination with ACT, SAT, GED, and ACCUPLACER scores or other criteria that institutions select based on analysis of predicted student success. Campbell and Harrell explained that it was important to demonstrate their confidence in and support for a minimum threshold for the use of high school GPA so that college administrators would feel comfortable “pushing the boundaries further than they have in the past.”

To support Arkansas institutions in reducing the need for developmental education at the college level, Campbell and Harrell said they will continue having conversations with Arkansas colleges about the latest data on student success and the best evidence for improving the numbers.

“We hope that time to degree is decreasing across our state and gateway course success is increasing, but our most recent push for MMA is still very new,” Campbell said. “Institutions are being innovative, and they are being creative, and they are taking some risks with the students’ best interest in mind, but it’s still very new.”

For a transcript of the video, click here.

Looking Ahead

Much has been accomplished in placement reform in Arkansas, and there is greater recognition of the strength of GPA as a success indicator for students. As Campbell, Harrell, and Tompkins all pointed out, there is still more work to be done in Arkansas and other states to help colleges adopt MMA best practices. Data-informed decision-making remains important in helping colleges to adopt and scale MMA and to view it as a credible, dependable approach for improving student success. As developmental education reform continues to evolve, states can take a page from the partnership between ADHE and ACC in providing information, resources, and forums for discussion of MMA implementation.