The ACE program addresses non-cognitive skills that have typically not been developed by students most likely to enroll in the ACE program, due to the negative circumstances of their lives and their prior negative experiences as students. ACE, MPR Associates and Professor Martin Chemers—professor emeritus of psychology from the University of California Santa Cruz–developed an instrument that combines eight mediating factors from standardized instruments including academic self-efficacy, personal responsibility, college identity, four factors of mindfulness, and leadership and teamwork efficacy. ACE named this instrument the College Student Self Assessment Survey (CSSAS).
RTI International conducted a longitudinal study, and their final report, published in January 2014, shows that ACE students experience shifts in affective factors that are important for academic success. RTI generated a series of 4 reports looking at ACE cohorts at multiple colleges between spring 2010 to spring 2013.
RTI measured psychological constructs associated with the affective dimension, which are instrumental to student success. ACE students exhibited significant gains in the 8 factors measured: academic self-efficacy, personal responsibility, college identity, four factors of mindfulness, and leadership and teamwork efficacy.
The total n for this analysis is 769 students from 6 colleges participating in the ACE program measured at three different times:
- Tan = Before Foundation Course
- Dark Blue = End of Foundation Course
- Light Blue = End of Semester
Results have shown that students who complete the ACE Foundation Course report a statistically significant improvement at a p<.001 in six of the eight affective dimensions measured.
ACE's Non-Cognitive Effect on Students - 6 College Study of 769 Students
ACE Participants' Mean Scale Scores for CSSAS Factors
