In this brief, the authors propose three measures of "early momentum" for two reasons: Research is beginning to show that these near-term metrics predict long-term success, and the metrics focus attention on initial conditions at colleges that are particularly important for solidifying the foundation for student success. While these…

Over the past several years, the Community College Research Center (CCRC) has conducted several research studies on developmental education and has produced reviews synthesizing the results of the authors' own work together with that of colleagues from other research organizations. In a recent issue of the "Journal of Developmental…

Originally designed for students who test into at least two levels of developmental education in a particular subject area, FastStart is a compressed course program model launched in 2005 at the Community College of Denver (CCD). The program combines multiple semester-length courses into a single intensive semester, while providing case…

After being assessed, many students entering community colleges are referred to one or more levels of developmental education. While the need to assist students with weak academic skills is well known, little research has examined student progression through multiple levels of developmental education and into entry-level college courses. The…

In this Brief the authors first report on evidence about the effectiveness (or, unfortunately, in too many cases, the ineffectiveness) of remediation and then provide information about the progression of students through the developmental sequence. They discuss problems associated with the crucial assessments and make a brief statement about…

In the paper, I review evidence on the number of students who enter community colleges with weak academic skills and on the incidence of developmental education. I then report on what happens to developmental students and review the research on the effectiveness of programs at community colleges designed to strengthen weak academic skills. I…

This paper presents findings from a study of the experiences and outcomes of older and younger community college students. We developed a discrete-time hazard model using longitudinal transcript data on a cohort of first-time community college students in Florida to compare the impact of enrollment pathways (such as remediation) and enrollment…

This Brief reports on a new study that begins to fill this research gap. Using longitudinal unit record transcript data on a cohort of first-time community college students in Florida, the study sought to determine whether remedial pathways, such as enrolling in a developmental math course, and enrollment milestones, such as completing a certain…

This paper presents findings from a study of the experiences and outcomes of older and younger community college students. We developed a discrete-time hazard model using longitudinal transcript data on a cohort of first-time community college students in Florida to compare the impact of enrollment pathways (such as remediation) and enrollment…