Background/Context: Twenty percent of first-year students in public 4-year institutions and 42% of first-year students in public 2-year institutions in the United States enroll in remedial courses. Yet despite widespread remediation across U.S. colleges and universities, there remains a great deal of uncertainty about how remedial courses develop…

Describes a study of student writing completed in one basic writing program. Measures the effectiveness of individual papers written in the program's two-course sequence by rating each against a modified "primary-trait" scoring scale. Finds that students made gains in the trait areas examined. (EMH)

Asserts that taking Introduction to College Writing, a fundamental writing course at Central Missouri State University, improves student academic achievement by developing their basic writing skills and preparing them for more advanced, general education writing courses. (VWC)