Evidence concerning compensatory education programs (designed to overcome educational deficits associated with adverse environmental circumstances) and their impact was sought in a study that investigated the progress made by students in such programs for reading over a six-year span, from middle school and through high school. Data were obtained…

The Developmental Studies Division of Thomas Nelson Community College provides developmental verbal and mathematics courses to enable inadequately prepared students to obtain the necessary knowledge and basic skills for entry into an associate degree program. A study was conducted to determine if those students who complete the objectives of the…

The first major objective of this paper is to describe in some detail the research that documents the proposition that even extremely disadvantaged 5-year-olds can be taught to read in kindergarten, and that, contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence of negative side effects from such teaching. The paper also describes an effective academic…

This is the second report on the evaluation of Project Giant Step, a program aiming to establish universal, comprehensive services to all 4-year-olds in New York, starting with low-income children in New York City who are not served by existing programs. The program combines an appropriate developmental and educational experience for children with…

To make Head Start studies more accessible and to inform concerned audiences about major findings in the research, this volume provides a review of 124 Head Start studies published since 1970 and presents an annotated bibliography containing 1,448 entries on Head Start research undertaken since 1965. The literature review summarizes findings…

A comprehensive report on Office of Education programs is provided in this evaluation of the programs for the 1974 fiscal year (FY). This report also updates and extends the FY 1973 report and provides additional information from 1974 program operations and monitoring activities. The status of the evaluation function itself is breifly discussed; a…

This paper describes the problem and consequences of preschool poverty and outlines the potential contributions of high quality preschool child development programs towards lessening the magnitude of the problem. Data indicate that among children under 6 years of age one in four is now living in poverty, and in 17 states more than one fourth of…

This report details a benefit-cost analysis of the Perry Preschool program and describes the program's long-term effects. Conducted since 1962, research on the Perry Preschool program constitutes one of the strongest and best-known sources of support for the long-term efficacy of early intervention with disadvantaged children. The Perry Project…

Identifies and refutes seven myths regarding developmental education. Indicates that developmental education programs have a long history in America, raise academic standards, contribute to retention, are cost-effective, serve a diverse population, should not be limited to community colleges, and do not repeat high school course offerings.…

Course placement systems in the first year of college include both an assessment component (to estimate students' probability of success in standard courses) and an instructional component (in which underprepared students are taught the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the standard courses). The effectiveness of a placement system…

Using a developmental research model, this longitudinal study focused on the academic development throughout secondary education of participants in a Midwestern Upward Bound project. The study attempted to determine whether the participants collectively demonstrated significant gains in achievement as a direct result of involvement in Upward Bound…

Examines and evaluates three approaches used by community colleges to provide academic assistance to educationally underprepared students: offering compensatory programs and services as electives; requiring certain students to participate in skills courses; and offering basic skills instruction as part of regular courses. (DMM)

This research assessed whether Israel's "second-chance" educational programs, the academic preparatory programs (APP) that challenge the sorting criteria of the mainstream, succeed in enhancing social equality in education. Successful outcomes of the APP are analyzed in light of the reported failure of community colleges to moderate…

In this newsletter focusing on helping college students succeed, an introductory essay by David Shroyer examines experiences with developmental studies at the University of New Orleans and issues in serving underprepared students, especially problems of attitude on campus. Suggestions for success include: an informal support network, a team…

This study examined the progress of nine collaborative student academic development programs in California which focused on improving the preparation of secondary school students for college and university study. The programs were selected for inclusion on the basis of commonalities along the following dimensions: a goal of increasing the number…