These two papers describe the City Colleges of Chicago's (CCC's) efforts to improve their developmental programs and services. First, a series of experimental programs designed to improve students' basic skills are outlined, including: (1) programs leading to a high school diploma and subsequent CCC enrollment offered by the Chicago Urban Skills…

This study investigated the effect of timed testing on developmental students' scores and developed data that might better reveal students' reading and testing behaviors. Three tests were administered to provide six variables, including the Cooperative English Test, Form 1A (Coop 1A); Cooperative English Test, Form 1B (Coop 1B); and Degrees of…

A mandatory developmental education program at Vincennes University Junior College (Indiana) was evaluated, based on Roueche's standards for successful developmental programs. The college tests all incoming students whose scores on the American College Testing Program/Scholastic Aptitude Test suggest the need for remediation. Students who need…

Making sense of developmental education in the two-year college is difficult, particularly in the shadow of the fear that it is not working very well. There is no choice, however, but to examine openly a serious problem. The "story" about developmental education in the two-year college that most educators would like to believe is that of…

The question of whether basic skills courses belong in higher education is examined through a review of the literature. The following issues are discussed in terms of opposing and supporting positions: (1) economic concerns (recruitment of a wider pool of students necessitate basic skills courses but preserve enrollment levels); (2) academic…

In October 1986, the Kansas State Board of Education included basic skills education as part of the role, scope and mission statements of the state's community colleges. In 1988, a study was conducted to assess the status of postsecondary remedial/developmental education. Study findings, based on semester enrollment figures for fall 1987, included…

Acknowledging that basic skills instructors must deal with the affective characteristics of developmental students, this paper describes factors to consider for creating an environment in which developmental students can improve their learning skills. The first section of the paper discusses ways to meet emotional needs when planning a pretest for…

In 1984, a study was conducted to gather information regarding the rates and patterns of student transfer from Roxbury Community College (RCC) to four-year institutions. Information on the 178 students who graduated from RCC in 1981 and 1982 was obtained from the RCC Registrar's office and the four-year institutions in Massachusetts to which…

This handbook describes the developmental education program at Alvin Community College (ACC) in terms of its philosophy, purpose, operation, implementation, and assessment. The first section examines the mission of ACC; the history of the developmental education program at the college and its current organizational structure; and the need for the…

The types of positions for which black administrators were hired in predominantly white colleges and universities in the late 1960s and the 1970s and the problems they encountered are considered. It is suggested that the threat of more riots by the black community and the federal government's threat to withhold funds from institutions with an…

This report presents findings from the third of a series of studies of the Upward Bound (UB) program. The study was conducted between April, 1978, and September, 1979, to investigate long-term educational outcomes of UB program participation. The Upward Bound program was designed for low income high school students with potential for successfully…

Results of three studies conducted at Clayton Junior College, Georgia, concerning differences between traditional and nontraditional age students relative to academic success and persistence are discussed. In the first two studies discriminant analyses were used to determine the influence of age in relation to other entering characteristics on…

The University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire has attempted to solve the problem of underprepared freshmen by offering adjunct classes to freshman level content courses. Currently ten adjunct classes in seven departments are taught and are used to integrate the teaching of learning and study skills into the teaching of the regular course content. Two…

Using a developmental research model, this longitudinal study focused on the academic development throughout secondary education of participants in a Midwestern Upward Bound project. The study attempted to determine whether the participants collectively demonstrated significant gains in achievement as a direct result of involvement in Upward Bound…

Reviews five books by James Moffett, discussing ways these practical applications of his development theory can be adopted as a course, a program, or a curriculum. Presents Moffett's work as a holistic integrated arts approach that offers a "real writing" alternative to such external controls as standardized tests, formalized writing…