Gatekeeper course completion rates were slightly lower for CBE participants than for comparison students, and credential completion differences varied by college¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 2 studies (3 entries) · 1 causal r1, 1 associational r? · q2
Currency · newest study 2016 · checked against its sources 2026-10-15 (automated, 3 of 3 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Gatekeeper course completion rates were slightly lower for participants than for comparison students. → Person 2016 q2 i? Differences in participants' and nonparticipants' credential completion rates varied by college and may reflect unobservable differences between the groups. → Person 2016 (2)

q2 i? Differences in participants' and nonparticipants' credential completion rates varied by college and may reflect unobservable differences between the groups. → Ann Person 2016

Evidence¶

Person 2016¶

Person, A. E., Thomas, J., & Goble, L. (2016). Implementation and Outcomes of Competency-Based Education in Three Community Colleges: Findings from the Comprehensive Evaluation of a TAACCCT Grant (Executive Summary). Oakland, CA: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/implementation-and-outcomes-of-competencybased-education-in-three-community-colleges-findings

q2 · i? · causal · r1

Comparison of CBE participants with comparison students in the evaluation finds "gatekeeper course completion rates were slightly lower for participants than for comparison students"; no test statistic or effect size is printed.

"Gatekeeper course completion rates were slightly lower for participants than for comparison students while, differences in participants' and nonparticipants' credential completion rates varied by college and may reflect unobservable differences between the groups."

Person 2016 (2)¶

Person, A. E., Thomas, J., & Goble, L. (2016). Implementation and Outcomes of Competency-Based Education in Three Community Colleges: Findings from the Comprehensive Evaluation of a TAACCCT Grant (Executive Summary). Oakland, CA: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/implementation-and-outcomes-of-competencybased-education-in-three-community-colleges-findings

q2 · i? · causal · r1

The same participant-versus-comparison analysis reports that credential completion differences "varied by college and may reflect unobservable differences between the groups"; no test statistic or effect size is printed.

"Gatekeeper course completion rates were slightly lower for participants than for comparison students while, differences in participants' and nonparticipants' credential completion rates varied by college and may reflect unobservable differences between the groups."

Ann Person 2016¶

Ann Person. (2016). Competency-Based Education in College Settings. Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/competency-based-education-in-focus

q2 · i? · associational · r?

Key finding comparing credential completion between CBE participants and nonparticipants across colleges in the consortium evaluation. The brief cautions the differences "may reflect unobservable differences between the groups"; no effect size or per-college statistic is printed.

"Differences in participants’ and nonparticipants’ credential completion rates varied by college and may reflect unobservable differences between the groups."

Studies bearing on this claim¶

Does a competency-based programme, taken as a whole, raise completion and achievement over a time-based one? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 4 narrower claims that bear on it: 4 distinct studies (3 causal, 1 associational), q2, 1 of 4 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Mastery Learning Improves Outcomes — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• CBE participants completed programs quickly, averaging less than two terms to a first industry certification course and about four terms to certificates and degrees — related

• Consortium-wide, 35% of CBE participants completed their program, with high employment rates and above-average wage growth after enrollment — related
• A three-college consortium successfully implemented online competency-based programs as planned, meeting most implementation milestones and outcome targets — related
• More than four-fifths of 2015 LINCS certification track course completers in five consortium colleges were employed within three quarters after the course, with average quarterly earnings of nearly $7,400 — related