We examine the impact of remedial and developmental courses on college students with varying levels of academic preparedness, thus focusing on a wider range of students than previous studies. Using a regression discontinuity design, we provide causal estimates of the effects of placement in different levels of remedial courses on short-,…

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…

Two-year colleges enroll many students every year that are not prepared for college level work. The purpose of this study was to determine what factors contribute to students needing to take remediation as well as what factors lead to successfully exiting developmental education. This study looked at students who began postsecondary education in…

Developmental education is integral to higher education in the United States. In academic year (AY) 2011-12, about one-third of all first-year undergraduates and 40 percent of first-year community college students were enrolled in at least one developmental course (NPSAS:12). Generally, students who fail to achieve adequate scores on placement…

In an effort to improve developmental education students' outcomes, community colleges have been experimenting with acceleration strategies. Models of acceleration allow students to complete their developmental requirements in a shorter amount of time. However, there has been limited empirical research on the effects of accelerating students'…

Developmental education sits at the nexus of all things educational, yet developmental education research seems asleep, unaware of the valuable and critical perspectives the field can provide. In that light, this article addresses the developmental education identity crisis addressed by Arendale (2005) in "Terms of Endearment,"…

As scholars continue to debate over the specific skills underprepared students need in order to complete their course of study, perhaps the focus should be on how to tap into students' independent thought processes and encourage students to utilize independent thought to contribute to interdependent groups. Placing value on students' independent…

This paper summarizes themes arising from a symposium on the future of developmental education in the United States. In recent years, public financial support of developmental education has been declining and is projected to decline further. Participants in a symposium on developmental education agreed on some trends that are emerging.…

A pilot project was developed to examine how changing governmental policies designed to reduce or eliminate developmental education have been affecting the organization and delivery of developmental instruction, admissions practices, and other institutional decisions and processes in the New England states. The pilot project does not evaluate New…

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia examined the status of remediation in higher education in the state using a population of first-time college students who graduated from a high school in Virginia, attended a Virginia college, and took at least one remedial course at a community college or private college. Over the last 5 years,…

The basic components of the basic writing program at Rutgers University, designed to prepare disadvantaged students for the core course in English, are a combination of reading and writing activities with as much individualized instruction as possible. The components include three courses, a learning center, and an annual workshop in the teaching…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the developmental education program of the Eastern Campus of Cuyahoga Community College. An evaluative model was constructed by accepting the performance standards and program guidelines that Roueche and Kirk listed in "Catching Up; Remedial Education" (1973), after their study of five successful…

The focus of this journal edition is remedial writing instruction in high school and college. Articles in the journal are: "The Remedial Student is Different," by Karl K. Taylor; "Writing Apprehension: (I) Combating Fear of Failure," by Donna K. Gorrell; "Writing Apprehension: (II) Where Does Fear of Writing Come…

A state-wide survey of Pennsylvania colleges sought to document the developmental education programming and remedial services these institutions offer their students. A 100-item questionnaire was sent to all 189 institutions that award undergraduate degrees and certifications. Eighty institutions responded. Findings include the following: (1) most…

This annual report describes the Higher Education Opportunity Programs (HEOP), which serve educationally and economically disadvantaged students at independent colleges and universities in New York State. Seventy-eight programs at 61 independent colleges and universities received $19,863,000 in state aid in 1992-93 for a full-time equivalent…