To run a successful construction trades education program, you need the right tools and resources. In today’s age, that means you are likely taking advantage of the power of educational technology (edtech). But how do you know whether an edtech platform is worth the investment? Tracking student outcomes is key so you can measure your impact, secure ongoing funding, and evaluate the success of educational technology after adoption.
What Are Student Outcomes?
Student outcomes are metrics that demonstrate student achievement in relation to course-level, program-level, and institutional-level goals.
The Aspen Institute lays out a comprehensive assessment framework that higher education organizations can use to evaluate their programs. At the heart of the framework are these questions: Do students complete their credentials? Are they learning valuable skills along the way? What is the impact on a student after graduation?
By aligning student outcomes with your institutional goals and examining your impact on micro (course-level) and macro (program or institutional) levels, you can gain a holistic picture of your outcomes.
Student Outcome Metrics for Construction Trades Classrooms
To evaluate trades programs, layer tried-and-true higher ed metrics with metrics unique to the sector, like credential pass rates. Short-term outcomes like pass rates and course learning outcome percentages give immediate feedback to faculty and administrators on how effective courses and technology are at helping students learn. Though it may take years to see meaningful data, long-term outcomes like job placement rates are important to track.
Below are several of the top student outcome metrics to consider tracking for your program, and as a result, the impact technology is having on your outcomes. Not every institution needs to track all of these—choose the outcomes and metrics that align best with your program goals.
Academic Achievement
There are many ways to measure academic achievement. Common methods are a course pass rate or the percentage of students meeting learning outcomes. At the course level, you can analyze specific skills in a technical course or median scores for assessments. At the program level, consider assessing soft skills like critical thinking or presentation skills.
Ideally, you should see a difference in these statistics after implementing an effective tool. However, it’s worth noting that many tools will also make it easier to track this information as well. If you are planning on implementing a new tool soon, look at how you track things like learning outcomes now and set a baseline standard to compare future outcomes to after your instructors and students have used the tool for a while.
Credentialing or Certification Pass Rates
In the construction trades, credentials are as important, or even more important, than a degree. A recent study found that students with an industry-recognized credential have higher job placement rates and earn an average of $4,000 more per year than their non-credentialed peers.
Indiana County Technology Center in Pennsylvania, for example, tracks its certification pass rates each year. When they introduced Interplay Learning’s interactive simulations in their HVAC curriculum, they watched their certification pass rates tick up and saw 100% of their students pass in the advanced range. By tracking this data before and after implementing Interplay, they felt confident that they had the right tools in place to prepare their students for success.
Safety Incidents
Since trades classrooms involve hands-on learning, tracking the number of safety incidents helps you measure student safety and mastery of basic safety and technical concepts. Of course, you want to see this number trending down or at zero.
Applied Learning Participation Rate
Research shows that applied learning—where students engage in hands-on experiences outside the classroom—elevates student engagement, confidence, and knowledge retention. Consider measuring the number and percentage of students who access applied learning during their education.
Graduation/Program Completion Rate
Graduation rates and on-time graduation rates are common higher education metrics. In construction trade schools, you may use an alternate measure of program completion instead of a standard two-year or four-year degree. First-year retention rates in a program can also help you understand how likely students are to stay in a program.
Career Outcomes
Job stability, competitive wages, and a faster path to earnings are several top reasons students pursue careers in the trades. Tracking career outcomes lets you market your programs more effectively and evaluate your success in preparing them for a career.
Create a framework for tracking alumni job placement rates and wages across one-year, five-year, and 10 years from program completion. Net earnings is another interesting metric evaluating the net return of career outcomes in relation to program costs.
How to Measure Student Outcomes in Your Construction Trades Program
Measuring student outcomes allows you to demonstrate success across your program, secure resources, and track the impact of new technology investments. If you don’t have a robust reporting system in place, here’s how to create one.
1. Establish a Measurement Framework
First, convene key stakeholders including faculty, program directors, and institutional planning to create a measurement framework. Align your measurement plan with your course-level, program-level, and institutional goals and determine which outcomes are most important to you and which metrics you’ll use to track them.
2. Establish a Data System and Baseline
Once you’ve narrowed down your outcomes and metrics to track, establish a data baseline. This involves creating systems and processes for collecting and housing data. You likely already have tools in place, such as a Student Information System (SIS), that can help with that. Set cadences for collecting data, like semesterly or annual analyses, and a chain of responsibility for collecting and analyzing data.
3. Analyze and Report
Determine how and when you will report on the data as well as who needs access to this information. For instance, start by producing regular internal reports. Create lines of accountability and transparency for internal reporting. If you are evaluating the success of a new technology or other program change, measure this course-by-course or semester-by-semester and control for other factors.
4. Create a Continuous Improvement Process
Finally, create a cycle of assessment, analysis, and improvement to put student outcome data into action. Regularly review and update your learning outcomes based on insights from the data, and engage faculty, staff, and industry partners in interpreting data and developing action plans.
How to Analyze the Impact of Technology on Trades Programs
DJ Mumau, HVAC instructor at the Indiana County Technology Center, can proudly recount student outcomes correlated to technology investments.
“Over the past few years, I’ve had about 81% of my graduates either continue into the HVAC field or a post-secondary education. Interplay has definitely helped out with that,” he shares.
The right tools can improve student outcomes, but being able to measure and prove that will make it easier to get buy-in to continue using the tools you need.
