First-year completion of the written communication (A2) requirement was similar across the 2017 and 2018 cohorts at approximately 80 percent¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2024: local conditions change quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i? A2 completion in the first year was similar for the 2017 and 2018 cohorts (approximately 80 percent), because many campuses had already eliminated developmental writing courses before the policy. → Bracco 2021

Evidence¶

Bracco 2021¶

Bracco, K. R., Barrat, V. X., Skjoldhorne, S., & Finkelstein, N. (2021). Student Progress Before and After California State University's Executive Order 1110. WestEd. http://csustudentsuccess.org/multiple-measures

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Cohort comparison of A2 (written communication) GE completion using CSU enrollment data. The report explains many campuses had already discontinued developmental writing and used directed self-placement, so the policy had little marginal effect on A2 completion.

"Although the percentages of students completing the A2 requirement in their first year were similar across the 2017 and 2018 cohorts (Figure 6), the change in policy led to a significant increase in the percentage of students completing the B4 requirement in their first year (Figure 7)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Campuses report success with Directed Self-Placement for written communication, but face challenges with multiple measures placement, especially timely high school transcript availability — related
• First-year completion of the A2 and B4 General Education requirements varied sharply by placement category, with wider gaps in QR than in WC — related
• First-semester outcomes strongly predicted second-semester A2 and B4 completion: students who completed first-semester stretch courses mostly completed the requirement, while most who failed an A2 or B4 course did not retake it — related
• Despite gains in credits and B4 completion, retention declines under EO 1110 were similar to baseline: 2018 Category III/IV students retained at the same rates as 2017 'not college ready' students — related
• Under EO 1110, students in QR placement categories III and IV attempted and earned more baccalaureate credits in their first year than comparable 'not college ready' students did in 2017 — related
• Second-semester stretch courses had higher completion rates than other course types for B4 across all placement categories and for A2 in Categories III and IV, but not Category II; corequisite and traditional course completion rates did not differ significantly — related
• Under EO 1110's first year, the majority of CSU entering first-year students were placed in Category II in both Written Communication (74 percent) and Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning (63 percent) — related