Setting Students Up For Success Through Data

Many U.S. high schools offer college prep programs for students who want to get a jumpstart on college. Most educators and parents see value in such programs, especially in how they help high school students transition to postsecondary education. But in fact, the actual impact of these programs is not always well understood. Leaders at one Minnesota school district wanted to tackle this question, using data they'd painstakingly collected over several years.

The Mounds View Public School District turned to the Carlson School’s Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program to help solve this problem.

Current MSBA students wrapped up their first semester in the program by putting their newly acquired skills to work for one of Minnesota’s largest school districts. Mounds View Public Schools, which covers several cities in the north Twin Cities metro, partnered with the Carlson Analytics Lab as the client for the summer “live case.” 

The district asked Carlson MSBA students to analyze de-identified data for insights into which college prep courses have the biggest impact on high school students’ future success after graduation.

Since 2012, Mounds View Public Schools has offered early college prep programs where students could earn college credit while still in high school. The staff at the district knew how well students did in the courses when they were in high school but had not analyzed the data to know how successful the programs were once students left and attended college.

“We had anecdotal evidence that these programs were working but we were missing an in-depth analysis on how well and what classes in particular were setting students up for future success,” says Mary Stobb, director of research, evaluation, and assessment for Mounds View School District.

Seventeen teams of Carlson School MSBA students devised analytics approaches to address the client’s question as part of Professor Mochen Yang’s MSBA 6130: Introduction to Business Analytics course. The Mounds View School District was particularly interested in learning about how the “academic middle”—also known as students on the cusp of college, but not quite there—fared in their post-secondary education.

In the end, eight top-performing teams presented their solutions directly to administrators and educators from Mounds View Public Schools.

“They had the ability to be unbiased and go places we wouldn’t,” Stobb says. “We were very impressed with their presentations and how quickly the (MSBA) students engrained themselves in this project and invested in what we were trying to accomplish. It was a great experience for us.”

Experiential learning is a core component of the Carlson School program. It benefits students in multiple ways, including providing students with real datasets from real clients, such as the Mounds View School District.

“Working for a real client forced us to consider many practical aspects of our work,” says Spencer Stromback, a member of the team named winners of the friendly competition. “It was also excellent practice for us to communicate effectively and professionally with real clients.”

Stromback’s teammate points to another benefit: impact. “Knowing that my work has real-world implications means a great deal to me,” says Amulya Konda. “It transforms abstract concepts into tangible results and connects me to the broader community.”

Going forward, the school district hopes to use the findings from the students to inform school leaders, students, and the public about how these college prep courses set students up for success.

“This was a tremendous way for us to get specific data about the work we’ve been doing,” says Angie Peschel, executive director of curriculum and instruction at the district. “Being able to better inform our students of these outcomes will go a long way in helping students prepare for their college careers.”