The “Don’t Suck” Theory of Improving College Graduation Rates
Ben Miller and Phuong Ly’s expose of college dropout factories reminds me of many conversations I’ve had over the years with policymakers and foundation officials about helping more students earn college degrees. They tend to go like this: First, we need a “research strategy” to identify “best practices” that have a statistically significant impact on college graduation. Then we need a “dissemination strategy” to communicate those practices to administrators and practitioners. Colleges will adopt the best practices, and graduation rates will rise.
I think this is mostly wrong.
The article tells the story of Nestor Curiel, a former student at Chicago State University. Here’s what happened:
