Success Boston Report Release: The Power of Coaching

	Download the report.
	Download the Interim Outcomes Report.
	Download the Implementation Report.

A new report prepared for the Success Boston College Completion Initiative by the research firm Abt Associates shows that graduates of the Boston Public Schools who are receiving coaching through the initiative have a significant advantage over other students. Success Boston coached students are 11% more likely than non-coached peers to persist into the second year of college and 21% more likely to persist into the third year of college. Coached students also have a college grade point average (GPA) that is 8% higher than non-coached students and spend 10% more time in good academic standing. In addition, coached students are 9% more likely to navigate their way through the financial aid process, which can ease the burden of the cost of higher education. (For more detailed information about the research, download the Interim Outcomes Report and the Implementation Report.)

Because of its rigorous design, the new study provides causal evidence that these differences in outcomes are in fact due to the students’ participation in coaching. According to the authors of the report, the effects of coaching can be characterized as “positive and large.”

The Success Boston initiative was launched in 2008 to improve the college success of Boston public high school graduates, particularly those in groups traditionally underrepresented in college degree attainment, including first generation students. Higher college graduation rates increase access to employment in such local industries as technology, financial services, higher education and medical sectors that routinely require advanced training.

Success Boston is a partnership of the Boston Foundation, the City of Boston, the Boston Public Schools (BPS), 37 area institutions of higher education, led by University of Massachusetts Boston and Bunker Hill Community College, and local nonprofit partners, including the Boston Private Industry Council and uAspire, which provides financial advice to students.