Describes two national programs in developmental education: National Project II, a consortium of different institutions sponsored by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education; and Networks, a program developed at Bronx Community College to facilitate communication among developmental education professionals through newsletters,…

The study was a quantitative, causal-comparative, ex post facto study that compared the college algebra and freshman English outcomes for three groups of developmental learners based on where they completed their developmental English and mathematics courses. The study also examined the effectiveness of developmental education courses within the…

Rough patches occur at both ends of the education pipeline, as students enter community colleges and move on to work or enrollment in four-year institutions. Career pathways--sequences of coherent, articulated, and rigorous career and academic courses that lead to an industry-recognized certificate or a college degree--are a promising approach to…

Community colleges, which serve almost half of postsecondary students in the United States, are receiving ever-increasing attention from policymakers and researchers. Although these institutions have always served a wide range of people in their communities, the number of students who enter community college requiring additional preparation before…

In essay form, the director of the developmental education program at Cochise College (Arizona) describes her struggle to be personally and professionally effective with Chicano students from Spanish-speaking homes in a racially and culturally prejudiced community. Appended are a description of the program and a list of course offerings, as well…

A national study on Adult Functional Competency, conducted by the University of Texas, determined that less than one-half of the adult population (46%) was proficient in handling the demands of modern living. Educators have never done even an adequate job of educating the country's people. If the primary goal of the teaching profession is to…

This paper describes a Developmental Education Outcomes Study being conducted for 21 Minnesota state community colleges. The goals of the study were to examine the academic performance of students placed into developmental reading, writing, and mathematics courses and to identify areas where improvement was needed. Subjects were all 20,543…

A 40-item questionnaire designed to investigate the variety and scope of developmental mathematics courses (DMC) offered at colleges and universities throughout the United States was administered to a selected sample of two- and four-year colleges in October 1974. The 104 respondents represented 21 states. Most (58%) of the colleges responding…

Cites the need for remedial courses in writing at the college level. (MKM)

Describes the "Quest for Identity" program at Central YMCA Community College (Chicago). This program strives to give disadvantaged students in their first semester of college a sense of belonging in the college environment and a higher academic self-esteem. It offers a Human Relations Workshop, remedial courses in composition, reading,…

Describes a study examining the relationship between instructors' attitudes to students' ratings of the instructors in remedial and developmental studies courses. Indicates that "instructor concern" for students and 12 associated characteristics were the most important factors identified by students. Discusses applications and implications of the…

The purpose of this study was to assess how well the ASSET, COMPASS, and in-house readiness tests actually do in their placement of students into the algebra developmental courses. Specifically, the author collected and analyzed student data from these placement tools and the core final exams for MTH 03 and MTH 04 to determine how well these…

The most recent data available from the National Center for Educational Statistics (2004) estimate that 60% of community college freshmen and 25% of freshmen at 4-year public institutions nationwide complete at least one remedial course. Nationally, fewer than 40% of students who are referred to developmental education actually enroll in…

Community colleges are increasing their enrollment faster than four-year universities and have also had the highest growth rate in online learning enrollments in higher education. This increase in community college enrollment and specifically in online and developmental courses, leads to a need for research with this population; sadly, very little…

This paper presents results of a qualitative study describing classroom participation in pre-college mathematics classes taught by seven successful community college faculty members. The analysis reveals high levels of student participation coupled with low complexity, which can result in detrimental opportunities for students to learn…