In education, practitioners are increasingly looking for strategies to bring data and evidence into decisionmaking and to roll out programs in intentional ways that allow for ongoing improvement. This toolkit acts as a guide to improvement strategies for teams of practitioners at colleges, providing them with the knowledge and tools they need to…

This mixed-method study explored the alignment of expected student learning outcomes (SLOs) and expected student entrance skills, as stated within "course outlines of record" (CORs), for basic skills courses in one California community college district. Researchers evaluated consistencies and discrepancies in course alignment. There were…

In 2007, the Illinois General Assembly passed Public Act 0950694, "The College and Career Readiness Pilot Act", in an effort to reduce remediation within Illinois' community colleges. An important objective of this legislation was to better prepare students to be successful in transitioning from high school to college. According to the…

A national study on Adult Functional Competency, conducted by the University of Texas, determined that less than one-half of the adult population (46%) was proficient in handling the demands of modern living. Educators have never done even an adequate job of educating the country's people. If the primary goal of the teaching profession is to…

A discussion is provided of the distinguishing characteristics of developmental education. First, the reasons for the lack of a clear definition are discussed, and the consequences of this ambiguity are highlighted in terms of the existing confusion over the purposes of developmental education. Next, the linguistic and theoretical bases of…

Special Services for the Disadvantaged Students (SSDS) is a federally funded three-year college retention program initiated at a Texas community college. The program's objectives include improving reading and math levels, improving achievement of handicapped students, and increasing skills in English as a second language. To accomplish these…

Jersey City State College (New Jersey) developed a local evaluation model to assess all salient aspects of the institution's basic skills program. The college's Academic Foundations Program was implemented to address the needs of urban educationally disadvantaged students. It includes faculty and staff development and research, freshman course…