Many recent high school graduates who enter community college are required to take remedial or developmental education courses before enrolling in college-level courses. Developmental courses essentially reteach high school- and junior high school-level content in reading, writing, and math. In some cases, students are referred to two or even…

Low rates of college completion are a major problem in the United States. Less than 60 percent of students at four-year colleges graduate within six years, and at some colleges, the graduation rate is less than 10 percent. Additionally, many students enter higher education ill-prepared to comprehend college-level course material. Some estimates…

There is increasing demand on the education sector to produce high-quality, actionable information to inform decisions aimed at improving student achievement. Unfortunately, every state currently lacks the out-of-state data necessary to follow individuals systemically and efficiently across state lines. The absence of appropriate out-of-state data…

Underprepared college students are a continuing challenge for higher education institutions. Many students arrive at institutions of higher education with weak academic skills and are unable to do college-level school work. As a result, developmental education programs are required to address these inadequacies in student preparation. The purpose…

Developmental summer bridge programs are a popular strategy for increasing college readiness among recent high school graduates. Aimed at providing an alternative to traditional developmental education, these programs provide accelerated and focused learning opportunities in order to help students acquire the knowledge and skills needed for…

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) serves a large majority of socioeconomically disadvantaged students who are struggling academically and are underprepared for high school graduation and college. This article describes the partnership between LAUSD and the Los Angeles Education Research Institute, and how this collaboration endeavors…

Across the country, a growing number of recent high school graduates are participating in summer bridge programs. These programs provide accelerated and focused learning opportunities in order to help students acquire the knowledge and skills needed for college success. The state of Texas has given particular attention to summer programs as a way…

This study examined the academic performance of Tech Prep students (referred to as participants) in comparison to non-Tech Prep students (referred to as non-participants) entering a two-year community college from sixteen different high schools in Stark County, Ohio. This study provided a quantitative analysis of students' academic experiences to…

The purpose of "Focus" is to provide coverage of poverty-related research, events, and issues, and to acquaint a large audience with the work of the Institute for Research on Poverty by means of short essays on selected pieces of research. This issue contains the following articles: (1) The new global labor market (Richard B. Freeman);…

This report addresses the issue of developmental education. Among the data presented is the number of high school graduates who were placed in developmental courses in English, reading, and mathematics. Included are abstracts of information submitted upon request by the following community colleges: Cochise, Cococino, Eastern Arizona, Maricopa,…

The City University of New York (CUNY) New York City Technical College (New York) piloted an "immersion" developmental-studies program for CUNY applicants who failed one or more of three admissions assessments (reading, writing, mathematics). If successful, the program may serve as a case study for remediation reform. The program…