Objective: Developmental education provides postsecondary students requisite skills to take credit-bearing coursework. Yet, racial disparities exist in which students are most likely to be placed into developmental education. The present study investigates how multiple measures of students' mathematics background ameliorate racial disparities in…

In 2014, developmental education became optional for many college students in Florida, regardless of prior academic preparation. This study investigated first-semester math course enrollment patterns for underprepared first-time-in-college (FTIC) students who would have previously been required to take developmental math and the passing rates for…

Contextualization refers to "a diverse family of instructional strategies designed to more seamlessly link the learning of foundational skills and academic or occupational content by focusing teaching and learning squarely on concrete applications in a specific context that is of interest to the student" (Mazzeo, 2008, p. 3). In…

The statistics about community college developmental math level and completion rates can seem disheartening, especially for those who work with these students day-to-day and know their life stories. When it comes to teaching her students, the author chooses not to focus on the statistics. Instead, she pays attention to their varied career goals…

The purposes of this study were to investigate (a) the effects of volition support (VoS) on students' motivation, effort regulation, and performance as well as (b) the perceptions of students about VoS in an online mathematics course offered at a community college. VoS was developed based on the theories of and research on volition (e.g., Corno…

Community colleges are facing increased pressure to accelerate students through their developmental mathematics sequence. However, many individuals feel that some state legislatures and college leaders are frequently bypassing developmental math faculty expertise when implementing acceleration and compression initiatives. This qualitative study…

This study describes student behavior through the actual assessment and placement (A&P) process. It then uses an alternative A&P policy that utilizes an additional measure that assesses prior math preparedness alongside subtest choice. Utilizing data from a community college that allows its' students to choose the assessment subtest used…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether high student accountability and formative assessment affected student motivation, learning and resource management strategies, and achievement in developmental algebra I. The setting was a fifteen-week semester at a community college in suburban New York. Two sections of developmental algebra I…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of developmental math, English, and reading courses by evaluating the success of students in the corresponding college-level math, English, and reading course. This study analyzed select student characteristics (sex, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status) or student developmental education status as predictors…

Underprepared college students take zero credit courses, extending their stay, and increase college debt which may lead to attrition (SUNY, 2015). President Obama's Affordability Proposal reported on a college "cost crisis" created "by failing to use technology to its fullest effect" (Kelly and Carey, 2013). The non-profit…

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the achievement rates of developmental mathematics students when a student success course was taken in combination with mathematics. The study investigated changes that occurred in the developmental mathematics completion rates of the learners by examining age and the course sequence of…

The Performance Measures for Student Success Report is the North Carolina Community College System's major accountability document. This annual performance report is based on data compiled from the previous year and serves to inform colleges and the public on the performance of our 58 community colleges. In 1993, the State Board of Community…

Student success and retention in postsecondary education, particularly in the area of mathematics, is a significant concern for educators across the nation. Over 60 percent of students who pass remedial math will persist to graduation, but less than 10 percent of those who fail will graduate. Many students in remedial courses have low…

We did not set out in 1999 to create a national curricular reform project. We started by wanting to make a local impact on our campus, and the project grew slowly and steadily to the current national MAC3 project coordinated by AMATYC. Over recent years we've been asked how MAC3 evolved. In this article we hope to share our experience as leaders…

Statistics education researchers are urging teachers of statistics to help students develop a more sophisticated understanding of variation, since variation is the core of statistics. However, little research has been done into the conceptions of variation held by instructors of statistics. This is of particular importance at the community college…