The establishment of an open admissions policy necessitated an evaluative procedure to identify groups requiring remedial instruction and to assist in estimating budgeting and staffing needs. This study was undertaken, therefore, to select tests in reading and mathematics which would: (1) discriminate adequately between non-college and college…

Faced with students with reading problems and a budget which would not cover the hiring of a reading specialist, instructors at Thames Valley State Technical College (Connecticut) developed a successful remedial reading program of their own. This article discusses how the program was developed and reports that over the past six years it has…

This address by the Chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) discusses recent and long-term changes in the district's programs, educational quality, and financial standing, and suggests means for future improvements. First, the paper highlights the district's achievements in improving transfer education and developing new…

As a result of an open admissions policy, the City University of New York (CUNY) was faced with large numbers of students in need of instruction in the basic skills. Each college had to develop testing programs to determine placement and to diagnose individual students needs, and each was faced with the necessity of creating larger programs in…

The development of the secondary language arts program for nonacademic students in the Florence, South Carolina, public schools is examined. The basic concern underlying this program is the psychological needs of individual students, coupled with the teacher's acceptance of the student's social and educational status. The framework of the…

The 16 chapters of this volume describe a wide variety of developmental programs intended to promote skill development and enhance academic performance for high-risk students at all levels of higher education. Following an introductory chapter by the editors, the chapters are: (1) "The Origin, Scope, and Outcomes of Developmental Education in the…

Laredo Junior College (LJC) is a comprehensive community college in Texas, serving a student population that is 93% Hispanic and 61% female. In response to evidence that LJC was not adequately preparing students with the basic and academic skills needed to transfer, LJC expanded and restructured its assessment, placement, and remediation programs.…

By the late 1960s, the most offered courses in American community colleges were remedial reading, remedial writing, and remedial arithmetic. The success of the early efforts in community colleges was marginal at best, as is evidenced by a 1968 study indicating that nearly 90 percent of all remedial students failed or dropped out of remedial…

Traditionally, the fundamental goal of all American education has been to provide students with adequate competencies in reading, writing, and mathematics. A year-long project, conducted at three high schools in Hardin County, Kentucky, provided for the development of a fourth basic: computer skills. Through this project, computer skills were…

The Navy is finding it increasingly difficult to attract personnel with aptitude scores high enough to make them eligible for entry into Class "A" technical schools. Training courses were developed for low aptitude students that would increase their mastery of the prerequisite skills and knowledge (S/Ks) they would need for success in…

The work performed by New Jersey's Minimum Basic Skills Advisory Committee in studying the state's remedial programs is described. The committee's findings are summarized, as are its recommendations for enhancing program effectiveness. Descriptions of data collection activities involve interviews with representative school districts, major…

This document consists of the project reports for the first two program years of Project LEEWAY: Steps to Success, a program at Lee College (Baytown, Texas) designed to promote and facilitate access to vocational-technical education and training, especially for women in nontraditional careers. The 1993-94 report discusses the development of this…

The Testing and Assessment Department of Dawson Technical Institute (Illinois) determined that approximately 25-30 percent of the students taking the entrance Test of Adult Basic Education do not meet the academic level required to start a training program. A competency-based adult reading and math program was developed, and the decision was made…

A study synthesized existing data and information on the characteristics of actual and potential dropouts and identified strategies and techniques employed in vocational programs in order to remedy basic skill deficiencies in these youths. During the study, a veriety of sources were examined, including school performance and job proficiency data,…

To facilitate transition and success of disadvantaged students in the regular community college vocational program, an Oregon project developed and demonstrated an integrated program of mathematical, writing, social, and vocational skills training. The project had three phases--research, implementation, and evaluation--and focused on construction…