Objective: We investigate whether performance funding--an increasingly prevalent state policy that allocates appropriations based on outcomes that prioritize retention and completion--places minority-serving institutions (MSIs) at a financial disadvantage due to these institutions serving a greater proportion of historically underrepresented…

In the past decade, a variety of political and economic issues have contributed to changing the landscape of American higher education. Among these issues is a shortfall of college educated laborers for the workforce, the increasing costs of college attendance, and the subsequent expansion of student debt. State politicians and decision makers…

Historically, college students needing additional academic preparation have been assigned to developmental/remedial courses. In 2013 Florida took a drastic departure from this model by passing Senate Bill 1720, which prohibited institutions from requiring placement tests and made developmental education optional for many students, regardless of…

The study's main objective was to provide a detailed description of math Assessment and Placement (A&P) policies in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). The study was focused on math because a larger proportion of students place into remedial math than remedial reading or English (Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010; Parsad, Lewis,…

This article provides insights from a 2-year, cross-site evaluation of state funded developmental education sites and serves as a focus article for response by those sites. Receiving grants from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), nine sites (5 community colleges and 4 universities) implemented innovative developmental education…

This paper seeks to better understand how community colleges in Florida planned to implement a new sweeping state policy pertaining to developmental education. Via a cluster analysis, we identify three distinct patterns in the ways in which the colleges responded to the policy: reformers, responders, and resisters. Further, we find that these…

This qualitative study offers critical insight into how language policy interacts with daily classroom decisions at a large and highly diverse urban community college in the United States. Specifically, it examines the challenges that faculty teaching developmental writing courses for English language learners experience when determining what…

Current research and policy literature indicate an increase in remediation courses nationwide (Tierney & Garcia, 2011; Parsad & Lewis, 2003). However, the most critical theme in research suggests variability and possible inaccuracies in remedial and developmental education data (Kirst, 2007; Venezia, Kirst & Antonio, 2004). In…

The number of incoming college students who require development mathematics coursework is a national problem. This is an enormous area of concern for a number of reasons--such as the monetary cost to students who must take courses for which they are not granted credit, and colleges and universities who must pay instructors to teach such courses.…

This article examines current policies and early intervention services for children with disabilities and their families in Canada within the principles of the Developmental Systems Approach (M. J. Guralnick, 2005, 2011). The article considers the sociopolitical context of Canada, especially with respect to diversity and equity. Applying the…

As highlighted in recent series in "The Lancet" (2007, 2011), children from low and middle income countries are more likely to be adversely affected by early biological and psychosocial experiences that have their origins in environments characterized by poverty, violence, nutritional deficiencies, HIV infections, substance abuse, and…

With the implementation of teacher performance pay in 2009 in China, teacher performance evaluation has become a heated topic. This research study follows up on two previous studies of teacher evaluation in China and continues the dialog by analyzing the latest trends in the context of teacher performance pay. There were two sources of information…

The absolute priority given by UNESCO to the promotion of universal literacy is understood as a key policy driver shaping the Organization since its inception in 1946. Grounded in human rights, the commitment has taken concrete form in many and diverse ways, but it is as a shaper of ideas that UNESCO's overall contribution is best judged. In…

This paper challenges the orientations and assumptions underpinning policies for disadvantaged young people (DYP) in Australia. We argue that policy interventions for young people generally exhibit a binary divide, some policies fostering leadership and creative endeavours targeted on "high-functioning" young people, especially within…

This paper presents the pioneering experience of the Programa Primeira Infancia Melhor (the Better Early Childhood Development Program), also known as "PIM" that has been developed since 2003 in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. PIM's goal is to "provide guidance to families, based on their own culture and experiences, to…