Throughout the 21st century, the discipline of developmental education has come under fire for low success rates and has created a great deal of controversy. This has especially been the case for developmental math. Over the years, there have been many initiatives to improve student success and completion in developmental math. Some have succeeded…

This paper focuses on two research-based frameworks that inform the design of instruction and promote student success in accelerated, developmental mathematics pathways. These are Learning Opportunities--productive struggle on challenging and relevant tasks, deliberate practice, and explicit connections, and Productive Persistence--promoting…

There is a movement nationwide to enhance the learning experience of college students who need to take courses in developmental mathematics. Technology is instrumental in eliminating the non-credit bearing courses from their programs of study. The restructuring of the mathematics programs allows for greater confidence on the parts of the students…

This brief summarizes results from a study on the experience of inter-sector math misalignment (ISMM), when students who were deemed "college-ready" by high school standards were placed in developmental courses upon enrolling in a local community college. Given that racially minoritized students are more likely to be placed into…

Postsecondary institutions and systems across the nation have demonstrated remarkable progress since the first "Core Principles for Transforming Remediation Within a Comprehensive Student Success Strategy" was published in 2015 (see ED561279). Building on this progress, the Summary Details Education Commission of the States (ECS) has…

Academically underprepared postsecondary students make up a large proportion of college campuses. Recent estimates indicate that up to 70 percent of incoming students at two-year community colleges and up to 40 percent of incoming students at four-year colleges enroll in developmental courses. There has been some criticism of the effectiveness of…

The Math Remediation Task Force is comprised of faculty from two-year, four-year comprehensive, and four-year flagship higher education institutions throughout the state of New Mexico. Its members have varying levels of experience with designing/implementing multiple math remediation programs including traditional, co-requisite and acceleration…

In this article, Gwen Taylor describes the West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) groundbreaking program, "Accelerating Opportunity" (AO), which targeted students who are deficient in math, reading, or writing. The program uses the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges' (2013) Integrated Basic…

In Part Three, the author reviews the basic ideas presented in Parts One and Two while arguing why the traditional equation-solving developmental algebra curricula is not a good choice for implementing neural response strategies presented in the first two parts. He continues by showing that the developmental algebra student audience is simply…

Driven by faculty-based action research, redesigned residential and online courses, and changes to placement testing, Rasmussen College increased its developmental education pass rates by double digits while decreasing the number and percentage of students who require remedial coursework. Like many institutions of higher education, Rasmussen…

The thoughtful utilization of student course evaluation data has been documented in the literature as a way to significantly improve student learning outcomes and the overall quality of instruction. However, at many community colleges, course evaluations continue to be used only for summative purposes or as a generic measure of instructor…

The statistics about community college developmental math level and completion rates can seem disheartening, especially for those who work with these students day-to-day and know their life stories. When it comes to teaching her students, the author chooses not to focus on the statistics. Instead, she pays attention to their varied career goals…

Nearly 60 percent of incoming community college students are unprepared for college-level work and must take at least one pre-college, "developmental" course, usually in math or English, before enrolling in any credit-bearing classes toward a degree. Within developmental education, students are most likely to need help with mathematics,…

I recently had the opportunity to teach a developmental mathematics class at a community college, something a little different from what I usually do as a mathematics teacher educator at a university. I welcomed the chance to examine the curriculum and try some new approaches. In particular, I wanted to explore the development of some fundamental…

Developmental mathematics (DSPM) is no longer a roadblock to student success at Jackson State Community College. Previously, all students, regardless of their goals, had to pass or test out of the same DSPM courses before enrolling in the college courses and programs they desired. In Spring 2007, Jackson State began a process of redesigning its…