In 2012, the State of Connecticut enacted Public Act 12-40, legislation that dramatically changed the way remedial education was theorized, designed, and delivered at community colleges and regional state universities in Connecticut. One of the most controversial features of this legislative movement was that it appeared to establish a…

Many students enter the Canadian college system with insufficient mathematical ability and leave the system with little improvement. Those students who enter with poor mathematics ability typically take a developmental mathematics course as their first and possibly only mathematics course. The educational experiences that comprise a developmental…

This article contributes to the empirical literature on remediation in community colleges by using policy variation across North Carolina's community colleges to examine how remediation affects various outcomes for traditional-age college students. We find that being required to take a remedial course (as we define it in this article) either in…

Development of intercultural skills is recognized as an essential outcome of a college education, but in order to facilitate students' growth effectively, we must understand the points of the developmental journey at which students enter the college classroom. This study tests four hypotheses developed on the basis of leading models of…

In an increasingly technological world, developing basic math skills is crucial. Headlines regularly be-moan the international ranking of American students on math proficiency, and students from low-income families do worse in math than their more affluent peers. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment in occupations…

Developmental mathematics is one of the most serious barriers to educational and economic achievement. Over 60 percent of all students entering community colleges in the United States are required to complete remedial/developmental courses as a first step towards earning associate's or bachelor's degrees. Then, to earn a degree,…

Having garnered national attention, high failure rates in developmental education present a significant barrier to state and national policymakers' goals of increasing the percentage of adults who earn a college credential. However, a majority of the research fails to consider why students place into developmental education. This piece examines a…

In 1996, Cardinal John J. O'Connor, archbishop of New York, proposed to Rudy Crew, chancellor of the New York City public school system, that the city's most troubled public-school students be sent to Catholic schools, where he would see that they were given an education. New York City's mayor at that time, Rudolph Giuliani, a voucher supporter,…

Many students begin higher education unprepared for college-level work in mathematics and must take non-credit developmental courses. Furthermore, many are "math-phobic" and avoid courses, majors and careers that involve quantitative work. Yet science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields are among the few job-growth…

Given the increasing demand for a well-educated American workforce, college and career readiness has become a significant educational priority. New educational initiatives, including the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, are being developed and implemented to prepare students for success in postsecondary education and the…

Counselors at a public community college who teach a first-year college success course to developmental education students do not have effective opportunities or a systematic method to develop their teaching practice. Moreover, like a majority of community college and university instructors, many counselors do not have formal training in…

This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data to compare the outcomes of students at Chabot College who participated in an accelerated, one-semester developmental English course and their peers who participated in a two-semester sequence. The sample included first-time students who entered college between summer 1999 and fall 2010; students…

This Brief reviews evidence on students who enter community college with weak academic skills, and it summarizes study findings on the effectiveness of developmental education. It suggests that, on average, developmental education is not very effective in overcoming student weaknesses. The report concludes with recommendations for a reform…

The number of incoming community college students, including recent high school graduates as well as nontraditional students, requiring remediation has increased dramatically in recent years. As a result, community colleges are mandated by the state to implement developmental programs to address the diverse academic needs of their students.…

Community colleges are continually faced with questions of how to best meet the learning needs of their diverse students, many of who are "nontraditional" and are often ill-prepared for college level work. These institutions are respected for furthering democracy through their commitment to educational access and criticized for falling…