In this dissertation, I examine various factors shaping students' trajectories and opportunities later in life. In Chapter 1, I explore the role of grade retention policies. Grade retention as a remedial policy is controversial because the benefits of extra instruction time may not outweigh its costs. Previous research has primarily examined…

This study reviews the current literature on best practices in developmental education concerning program structure and student placement procedures. Each academic year, millions of students decide to pursue post-secondary education. These students choose to pursue a college degree or the credentials necessary to improve their standard of living.…

Postsecondary institutions and systems across the nation have demonstrated remarkable progress since the first "Core Principles for Transforming Remediation Within a Comprehensive Student Success Strategy" was published in 2015 (see ED561279). Building on this progress, the Summary Details Education Commission of the States (ECS) has…

This study examined whether a correlation was present between demographic variables and academic success at a two-year institution in Alabama. Developmental status, gender, and race were compared with pass/fail status in the first college-level math class and graduation status. Results indicated that the developmental math classes were effective…

Colleges and postsecondary systems across the nation have demonstrated remarkable progress since "Core Principles for Transforming Remediation" was published in 2012. States and institutions are phasing out stand alone or multi-course remediation sequences, resulting in tens of thousands of students more quickly enrolling in and…

This report describes the differences in early and long-term college outcomes for Oklahoma ACT-tested students between those who were monitored early with ACT Explore® and ACT Plan® and those who did not take these two assessments prior to taking the ACT® Test. Findings support that early monitoring of college and career readiness with ACT Explore…

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…

Over half of the states now require students to pass a high stakes exit exam before being allowed to graduate from high school. No Child Left Behind requires that standardized testing be included to determine whether or not a school makes Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The purpose of this study is to examine the results of the Georgia High School…

Existing measures of student achievement exclude far too many students and track too few student milestones. These exclusions can penalize institutions for serving disadvantaged students by understating these students' performance. This Issue Brief offers state leaders a formula for measuring systemwide student achievement at postsecondary…

In this paper we analyze longitudinal data from a nationally representative panel of college entrants to test and compare several theoretical explanations of college degree attainment and noncompletion. So far, relatively little emphasis has been placed on determining the relative and combined predictive power of competing explanations or…

With their open access admission policies, low tuition costs, and convenient locations, community colleges are designed to make college accessible to all. They strive to meet three main goals. The first is to teach marketable vocational skills, the second is to provide the first two years of a four-year bachelor's degree program, and the third is…

Left out of the conversation for education reform, at least on the level of grade school, secondary school, and college are the adult education programs provided across the country. These programs receive a fraction of the funds and respect as mainstream programs do. However, they are sorely needed in Northwest Indiana. The region's early 21st…

Improved college completion rates are critical to the future of the United States, and states must have better data to understand the nature of the challenges they confront or target areas for policy change. The 2010-2011 National Governors Association (NGA) Chair's initiative, "Complete to Compete", recommends that all states collect data from…

Remedial education, although widely used and disguised with other names, was rarely talked about for it could tarnish a school's reputation if widely discussed. Today, more and more colleges and universities are ditching the old stigma associated with remedial education, reinventing their remedial education and retention programs and, in the…