Washington’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST)

The I-BEST program is a model bridge program that integrates education in basic skills with technical instruction. The percentage of students who earn their first 15 college credits is substantially higher if they are part of the I-Best program (53 percent), compared to basic skills students who attempt college coursework in other ways (11 percent for stand-alone English as a Second Language). In addition, I-BEST students were substantially more likely to earn certificates during their first year.

Research on I-BEST

Washington State's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program (I-BEST): New Evidence of Effectiveness (CCRC Working Paper No. 20). Matthew Zeidenberg, Sung-Woo Cho & Davis Jenkins. Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University. (September 2010).

This study examined the impact of I-BEST on students enrolled in the program in 2006–07 and 2007–08. The authors of the report found that enrollment in I-BEST had positive impacts on all but one of the educational outcomes (persistence was not affected), but no impact on labor market outcomes. However, I-BEST students in our sample were entering the labor market just as the economy was entering a major recession, and perhaps a future evaluation will reveal better labor market outcomes. They also found that students who attended colleges with I-BEST after the program was implemented were 7.5 percentage points more likely to earn a certificate within three years and almost 10 percentage points more likely to earn some college credits, relative to students who were not exposed to I-BEST.

How I-BEST Works: Findings from a Field Study of Washington State's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program. John Wachen, Davis Jenkins & Michelle Van Noy. Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University. (September 2010).

A companion to CCRC Working Paper No. 20, this paper reports on a study that examined how the 34 community and technical colleges in Washington State are implementing the I-BEST model and how I-BEST programs operate.