In postsecondary research, comprehensive approaches to student success (CASS) programs are shown to have the greatest impact on student outcomes. At the core of a CASS program is personalized and proactive coaching in which coaches actively reach out to students and meet to discuss personal and academic issues. MDRC's evaluation of one CASS…

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) seeks to improve student outcomes by promoting a variety of student success efforts. These efforts include direct programs with well-defined target populations and program participants, offering specific student support services following a program model, and indirect programs aimed at…

For decades, most states have made a practice of giving citizens returning from prison or jail a small amount of money, called "gate money," to cover the cost of transportation and other immediate needs. Many legislatures have considered increasing the dollar amount of their cash assistance and offering this kind of support more widely.…

Postsecondary institutions, and particularly community colleges, are positioned well to train more and more of the nation's entry- and middle-skill workers. The New World of Work (NWoW), a program that promoted teaching and learning soft skills, was designed in 2012 and operated briefly in over 75 community colleges in California. The program…

Summer youth employment programs (SYEPs) are a workforce development strategy used around the country to provide early work experiences to young people each year. These programs partner with local employers to provide subsidized wages for young people between the ages of 14 and 24. The programs often include job-readiness training (which prepares…

CUNY ASAP is a three-year program offering comprehensive student support, financial aid, and structured pathways. The program has served over 100,000 students since 2007 and been replicated across seven states. ASAP's primary goal is to increase the completion of college associate degrees. Specifically, the comprehensive intervention is expected…

Roca is a nonprofit organization that works to change the lives of young people who are involved in the justice system and are at high risk of participating in violence or being affected by it. Such young people include those with a history of arrests, incarceration, violent behavior, or gang involvement, and often a disconnection from education…

Job Corps is the largest and most comprehensive education and job training program in the United States for young people ages 16 to 24 who are not in school and are not working. To deepen the Job Corps program's ability to generate and use evidence to improve the labor market trajectories of eligible young people, this report discusses ways Job…

Some education programs' early positive effects disappear over time. Other programs have unanticipated positive long-term effects. Foundations warn of the dangers of putting too much weight on in-program effects, which, they say, often fade after a program ends. This Issue Focus tackles the topic of post-program effects in postsecondary education.…

The New York City P-TECH 9-14 schools are an educational model that ties together the secondary, higher education, and workforce systems to improve outcomes across domains. The distinguishing feature of the model is a partnership among a high school, a community college, and one or more employer partners that focuses on preparing students for both…

The New York City P-TECH 9-14 schools are an educational model that ties together the secondary, higher education, and workforce systems to improve outcomes across domains. The distinguishing feature of the model is a partnership among a high school, a community college, and one or more employer partners that focuses on preparing students for both…

This brief is designed for school-based and community-based organizations interested in implementing evidence-based early childhood curricula. It provides practical guidelines and tools for four stages of implementation: (1) Preparing the system; (2) Hiring and training coaches; (3) Getting teachers ready to implement the curriculum as intended;…

In 2019, MDRC launched the Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) project to improve college completion rates for traditionally underserved students, such as students from low-income backgrounds and students of color, at community and broad-access colleges (those that have open or minimally selective admissions…

When students drop out of high school there are substantial social and economic consequences that can persist throughout their lives. They are more likely to be unemployed, to become teenage parents, to become involved in the criminal justice system, and to suffer a lifetime of low wages. Dropout rates soared during the COVID-19 pandemic as…

Participatory research--the inclusion in research of members of a group being studied--is based on the idea that advanced degrees are not a requirement for conducting research, and that the people closest to a problem have knowledge that can lead to better, more accurate results. MDRC researchers worked with a group of youth fellows in Learn and…