The Power of Coaching: Highlights from the Interim Report on the Impact of Success Boston's Transition Coaching on College Success

The Success Boston initiative was launched in 2008 to improve Boston public high school graduates’ access to and success in college, particularly for members of underrepresented groups. This report summarizes results from the second of three reports examining the classes of 2013 and 2014 and examines whether and how coaching affects students' short-term college outcomes. The study employs the strongest design possible to support causal claims about the effects of Success Boston Coaching (SBC) on students. 

Key findings include:

• SBC-coached students are 11% more likely than non-coached students to persist into the second year of college, and are 21% more likely to persist into the third year of college than non-coached students.
• The college grade point averages of SBC-coached students is 8% higher than that for non-coached students, and SBC-coached students spend 10% more time in good academic standing.
• Coached students are 9% more likely to renew their FAFSA than non-coached students.