A recent study found that one in three Americans between the ages of 16 and 65 lack the skills needed to succeed in middle school math, let alone math at the high school or college level. In some instances, states or colleges have raised standards for developmental courses and routed students who score below the minimum skill level for…

This study adds to the currently limited evidence base on the efficacy of interventions targeting non-college-ready high school students by examining the impact of Kentucky's Targeted Interventions (TI) program. We focus on interventions that students received under TI in the senior year of high school based on their 11th grade ACT test scores.…

In an effort to improve developmental education students' outcomes, community colleges have been experimenting with acceleration strategies. Models of acceleration allow students to complete their developmental requirements in a shorter amount of time. However, there has been limited empirical research on the effects of accelerating students'…

In recent years, there has been unprecedented national focus on the importance of increasing graduation rates for community college students. Many reforms have been tried, but college completion rates remain stubbornly low: Only one-third of entering students graduate with a degree or certificate within five years. Reforms are often short-term,…

In recent years, there has been unprecedented national focus on the importance of increasing the stubbornly low graduation rates of community college students. Most reforms that have been tried are short-term and address one or only a few barriers to student success. The City University of New York's (CUNY's) Accelerated Study in Associate…

Community college stakeholders are searching with increasing urgency for approaches with the potential to improve the success rates for community college students, particularly those in need of developmental education. "Learning communities," which place cohorts of students together in two or more courses for one semester, are a popular…

NovaNET is a technology-based teacher-facilitated educational approach used at schools to support students at risk of not meeting graduation requirements to accrue credits in a variety of subjects. NovaNET contributes to the WCPSS goal of closing achievement gaps and creating opportunities for all students to graduate on time. In 2008-09, 38…

This Education Policy Brief reviews the status of remedial education at the postsecondary level by examining state and national data and considers why college-level remedial programs are necessary. This Brief also examines the costs and systems of delivery for these programs, and strategies to lessen the need for remediation. Contents include: (1)…

The authors advocate the use of a pupil typology in which the variables of sex, race, family status, and I.Q. range are combined to form a pupil classification system. This systematic arrangement of data when combined with change in pupil performance, allows the creation of local norms. A scheme for comparing the change in pupil performance among…

This publication is intended to be used as a sourcebook and reference by practitioners interested in postsecondary developmental programs, with a particular focus on occupational students. The information presented was derived from a statewide survey of staff members involved in the operation of developmental programs in 51 two-year colleges and…

Highlights are presented of programs designed to aid students underprepared for college level work at the ten institutions chosen as Associates for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) National Project II: Alternatives to the Revolving Door. The selected programs include: those at Bronx Community College, the Educational…

To examine the effects of developmental and remedial course participation on student retention and academic performance, Sinclair Community College, in Ohio, undertook a study of outcomes after 3 years for the 1,798 first-time, degree or certificate students who enrolled in fall 1990. Students were grouped based on need for remedial coursework and…

This study analyzed the academic and demographic characteristics of 2,939 students admitted to the University of Louisville (Kentucky) Preparatory Division (an academic/enrollment unit for all students initially inadmissible to a degree-granting unit) who achieved eligibility to transfer to a degree-granting unit of the University. It also…

Basic skills programs are now almost a given in the curricula of postsecondary institutions; however, the key area of concern of basic skills researchers is, Are they working? The answer is two fold: yes, those involved in and committed to the programs are working very hard, and no, the programs themselves are not working very well. There is a…

This report covers Title I programs operated from July 1976 through August 1977 and includes a description of the evaluation methods used, descriptions of the programs and the primary instructional services offered, and evaluations of individual programs. Emphasis is placed on the impact project participation had on the academic achievement and/or…