Date of Degree
2023
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Director
Hu, Xiaodan
Committee Members
Kortegast, Carrie; Mac, Jacqueline
Keywords
dual credit, early college, dual enrollment, placement measures, eligibility criteria, prerequisites
Abstract
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the studied college broadened its eligibility criteria for dual credit to include an in-progress high school GPA. To determine whether the use of an-in progress GPA should be fully adopted as a placement measure, further study was needed. This quantitative study examined the relationship between the placement measures used before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and dual credit students’ access to and performance in the gateway ENGL 101 course taken at Prairieland Community College.
Data were collected from a small community college in the Midwestern region of the United States retrospectively over the academic years 2015 and 2023. Descriptive statistics were collected and analyzed to identify trends in the enrollment data. Data indicated that the racial composition of students enrolled in dual credit ENGL 101 did not reflect the racial composition of the college or community college district; however, rates of participation among minoritized student populations increased once the in-progress high school GPA was used as a placement measure. The chi-square test of independence was used to determine a relationship between the dependent variable (ENGL 101 course outcome) and independent variable (placement measure used). Results of the chi-square test of independence indicated a statistically significant association between the placement measure used and the ENGL 101 course outcome. Several iterations of binary logistic regression analyses examined the probability of passing ENGL 101 with regards to the placement measure used, controlling for the covariates of race, biological sex, course delivery model, and academic year. In most iterations of the regression analyses, the researcher found a statistically significant difference in ENGL 101 course outcome between those students who used the ACCUPLACER as a placement measure, compared to those students who used an in-progress high school GPA. The covariates that demonstrated a statistically significant relationship with the probability of passing ENGL 101 included being Black/African American, enrollment in a section of ENGL 101 in which the college instructor taught at the high school, and the 2021 academic year. The other covariates demonstrated no significant relationship with the ENGL 101 course outcome.
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Pickel, Jessica I., "Placement Measures in Dual Credit: A Quantitative Study" (2023). Dissertations of Practice. 3.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/3
