CAPR Publications
The Next Phase of Placement Reform: Moving Toward Equity-Centered Practice
By Elizabeth Kopko, Jessica Brathwaite, and Julia Raufman | August 2022
This brief provides guidance to institutions seeking to design and implement placement systems that redress limitations of test-only systems and that work in conjunction with other reforms to generate more equitable outcomes.
Reviewing the Research on Informed Self-Placement: Practices, Justifications, Outcomes, and Limitations
By Tiffany Morton | June 2022
This brief reviews the existing research on informed self-placement (ISP). It discusses the processes and methods used to implement ISP as well as justifications for its use, provides an overview of the available data about how students behave and perform when ISP is used, and makes recommendations for future study.
Informed Self-Placement Today: An Exploratory Study of Student Outcomes and Placement Practices
By Jessica Brathwaite, Dan Cullinan, Elizabeth Kopko, Tiffany Morton, Julia Raufman, and Dorota Rizik | June 2022
This brief presents the findings of CAPR’s exploratory study of informed self-placement (ISP), a placement system in which colleges provide information about placement policies, available courses, and other relevant topics to engage students as active participants in their own placement.
Interim Findings from the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways Long-Term Follow-Up Study
By Dorota Biedzio and Susan Sepanik | March 2022
This brief presents interim findings for the first three years after random assignment and provides an exploratory analysis of the effectiveness of the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways (DCMP) program for various subgroups.
Lessons From Two Experimental Studies of Multiple Measures Assessment
Dan Cullinan and Elizabeth Kopko | January 2022
This brief describes findings from two experimental studies of multiple measures assessment, in which colleges use measures beyond placement test scores to determine students’ college readiness.
Implementing and Scaling Multiple Measures Assessment in the Context of COVID-19
Susan Bickerstaff, Elizabeth Kopko, Erika B. Lewy, Julia Raufman, and Elizabeth Zachry Rutschow | January 2021
Based on interviews with system leaders and college administrators, faculty, and staff, this brief presents four short case studies on how community college state systems changed placement policies and supported new placement practices in the midst of the pandemic.
Who Should Take College-Level Courses? Impact Findings From an Evaluation of a Multiple Measures Assessment Strategy
By Elisabeth A. Barnett, Elizabeth Kopko, Dan Cullinan, and Clive R. Belfield | October 2020
This report describes impact findings from an evaluation of multiple measures assessment and placement at seven State University of New York (SUNY) community colleges.
Gaining Ground: Findings from the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways Impact Study
By Elizabeth Zachry Rutschow, Susan Sepanik, Victoria Deitch, Julia Raufman, Dominique Dukes, and Adnan Moussa | November 2019
This report examines how four Texas community colleges implemented Dana Center Mathematics Pathways (DCMP) and the impact of DCMP on student outcomes over as many as four semesters. Costs of the initiative and student perspectives are also discussed.
Content and Connections: Students’ Responses to a Hybrid Emporium Instructional Model in Developmental Mathematics
By Angela Boatman and Jenna W. Kramer | November 2019
Based on focus groups, this paper examines how developmental math students at six public colleges in Tennessee experienced the hybrid emporium model, which emphasizes computer-based instruction. Students reported cognitive and social accessibility benefits.
Computer-Based Math Remediation: Evidence from Technology-Centered Instruction in Two-Year and Four-Year Colleges
By Angela Boatman | November 2019
Using statewide public college data from Tennessee and a difference-in-differences analytical model, this paper examines the effects of adopting a hybrid emporium developmental math model on student outcomes.