Research Leads to Innovative “Interactive Dashboard on Dual Enrollment Readiness,” Pilot Programs at Central Florida Public Schools to Give Students an Early Start on College Success

(Shared from CFEED.org)

Orlando, Florida, February 15, 2024 — Senior Data Analyst Ashton Terry gets excited when he talks about student potential in Central Florida. Terry is a data analyst for a unique partnership called Central Florida Education Ecosystem Database (CFEED). Recently, CFEED’s research on Dual Enrollment has led to some important findings and tools that Districts can use to help students access Dual Enrollment to advance their high school, college, and university journey.  

“Through years of research, CFEED has determined that if a student has taken approximately five high-school level advanced courses, such as Honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or AICE, and completed these courses with roughly a 3.0 Grade Point Average, they will be academically ready for the rigors of college coursework,” Terry says.  

CFEED Dual Enrollment Projects 

“Once a student begins taking high school coursework, even as early as middle school, we have an AI algorithm that assigns a readiness level for each student, based on their performance in these accelerated high school-level courses.” 

The tiered course scoring model weighs the high school courses in the existing Florida state courses catalog and evaluates the students’ progress in taking the courses. It calculates the student’s DE-readiness in one of four DE-readiness stages. Students at “Expected” or “Probable” readiness are most ready for post-secondary coursework. CFEED has found students in these categories have lower attrition risk once they reach college, compared to students from the “Approaching” or “Beginning” groups. 

To arrive at the four tiers, the model analyzes the significance of course rigor, the order of course taking, and the timing of the course completion. Because the model uses the existing Florida state course catalog and a student’s existing course work, it can be used in all schools in Florida.   

The CFEED four Dual Enrollment-readiness groups  

CFEED’s AI model provides a list of students to school administrators in the SDOC and OCPS school districts, that identifies each student by their DE readiness category. Administrators can use this information to guide high school students towards courses more aligned for college. For example, for students who show readiness for Dual Enrollment but who are not yet participating, administrators can provide more support to encourage enrollment in Dual Enrollment. 

“CFEED’s findings come about through a steady effort of research and insights, building upon each other,” explains Terry.  

“Between September of 2020 to September 2023, CFEED’s research on Dual Enrollment has made significant progress,” states Terry. “We look at transcripts for students enrolled in public schools in Osceola and Orange counties. The research has expanded from an analysis of participants, courses, and course difficulty to an include students who are participating in Dual Enrollment, and those who are ready but not yet taking part.”  

By the end of 2023, CFEED’s research on Dual Enrollment had reached leadership at two public schools in Central Florida, including principals, administrators, and teachers, Terry explains.  

“With the data in hand, principals are taking information to their school leadership teams, to determine the next steps for each student. CFEED is also spreading the information to individual teachers, so they can examine the readiness potential of their students,” Terry says. This is a major milestone for CFEED since the group’s inception in 2016. 

Terry said the first presentation on Dual Enrollment to public schools was in January 2022. “The early results and reactions showed the research was well received,” he says. The presentations led to school leadership teams looking for ways to collaborate, to analyze their lists to see what acceleration opportunities are available.  

The Dual Enrollment research is just one example of the ways CFEED research produces insights that lead to impact and interventions for students. Since CFEED’s inception, the team has developed multiple AI models using Microsoft’s Azure Machine Learning and PowerBi technology.  The partners have curated more than 700 unique analysis variables, delivered more than 200 requested research projects, and presented findings at several professional conferences. In September 2023, CFEED hosted its first CFEED Summit at Valencia College. Leaders from CFEED’s partnering institutions attended this event, and the engaging, collaborative sessions spurred several new projects which the team is actively working on. 

Terry explained that “when looking at the progression of students from Pre-Kindergarten to post-secondary education, organizational leaders can use CFEED’s insight to analyze the student journey starting in the early years to look for intervention points.” CFEED has measured various checkpoints along a student’s academic journey, including taking accelerated courses in middle and high school, bumping up the rigor through Dual Enrollment, graduating high school, and later college. 

“From this analysis, our team has provided information that decision makers can rely on to support students as they navigate through this academic journey, so that more students can achieve the ultimate goal of moving into the workforce and impacting society in many positive ways,” he said. 

For more information, contact Diana Pienaar, CFEED Director, Valencia College, at dpienaar@valenciacollege.edu or visit http://www.cfeedhome.com. 

About CFEED 

Central Florida Education Ecosystem Database (CFEED) is a partnership, comprised of the Helios Education Foundation, the Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), School District of Osceola County (SDOC), University of Central Florida (UCF), Valencia College and Midtown Consulting Group, that is engaged in a collaborative program to develop insights and create impacts for students in Central Florida.