State community college systems and their two-year colleges have spent the 2010s reexamining and redesigning decades-old developmental education tracks to ensure students get what they need--and only what they need--with an eye toward moving them more quickly into college-level courses and, eventually, the degree or certificate they want.…

As part of a study (Armstrong, Stahl, & Kantner, 2015a, 2015b, 2016) of curricular alignment between developmental reading (DR) and introductory-level general education (GE) at one community college, we asked faculty participants about the DR coursework at their own institution. Throughout data analysis, we became interested in how non-DR…

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…

Developmental mathematics has been under the radar within higher education for some time. The reality is that there are many proven best practices in developmental math. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles that prevent student success. Moreover, the high rates of attrition and failure have led state legislators and college administrators to…

Attrition for entry-level, non-traditional college students taking developmental reading courses is a concern for higher education institutions. Students need to complete basic developmental reading courses in order to progress in their vocational or collegiate studies. This phenomenological study followed a social constructivist approach to…

Developmental education courses have become a standard in community colleges in the United States. An overwhelming majority of these public two-year schools offer developmental courses to a wide array of students. At the same time, developmental programs are under a constant barrage of attacks from a variety of stakeholder organizations that view…

Since Breneman and Haarlow (1998) first estimated the national cost of developmental education to be approximately $1 billion dollars, the developmental education landscape has shifted in numerous ways. This paper provides an update to their estimate in light of both these changes and improved data that disaggregates the cost to community colleges…

This is the third and final article in this series. The first article reviewed the literature for research studies on successful developmental programs and students. The second article reported on the qualitative research methods and results documented from a purposive sample of twenty successful developmental mathematics students 3-5 years after…

The author works as a developmental writing instructor and tutor at a community college. She loves to write, to carve out some time to do what she spends her days teaching others to do. The author states that her becoming a teacher has made her life less her own. For her, teacher is all-absorbing. Yet, her life is not depleted by teaching; rather,…

Developmental programs for underachievers are not as prevalent as they need to be due to lack of faculty willingness and ability to teach these students. Some recommendations are made for encouraging faculty support. (NF)

The developmental program at Los Angeles City College, designed six years ago for those with low likelihood of success, has been regularly up-dated as needed. For the past two years, counselor assistants and student tutors have helped the regular faculty. In 1968, student tutors were assigned to help students, both regular and developmental, in…

Low achievers who in the past have experienced difficulty with the lecture-oriented classroom, now have an alternative program at Southeastern Community College in which to develop confidence and awareness of their ability to do college work. The program features individualized instruction and the use of a variety of instructional media. (JO)

The study proposed to determine if an 8-weeks' summer preparatory program in English, math, reading, study aids, science, and group dynamics would enable a particular group of 51 students to compete academically in the first semester of the 1968-69 school year with 51 regularly admitted students. The experimental group was chosen from those…

This summary of the activities of the Committee since its formation in March 1968 points out certain inadequacies in current junior college programs for the disadvantaged. Testing programs are based only on middle-class culture; guidance and counseling do not allow for transitional programs or give help with personal, financial, and family…

THIS REPORT BY A COMMITTEE OF THE FACULTIES OF THE LOS ANGELES JUNIOR COLLEGES OFFERS SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS FOR EDUCATING THE DISADVANTAGED STUDENT. INSTRUCTORS MUST APPRECIATE THE DIFFICULTIES OF REACHING THE NON-ACHIEVER, WITH HIS FRUSTRATION, APATHY, AND REBELLION AGAINST EDUCATION, AND THEY MUST UNDERSTAND THE NECESSITY OF ENCOURAGING HIM TO…