Having garnered national attention, high failure rates in developmental education present a significant barrier to state and national policymakers' goals of increasing the percentage of adults who earn a college credential. However, a majority of the research fails to consider why students place into developmental education. This piece examines a…

Identifies ways in which remedial/developmental programs are like and unlike other academic programs for evaluation purposes. Offers a four-stage evaluation model representing four different levels of activity and points at which evaluation can be conducted. (DMM)

Provides an annotated bibliography of 13 publications, released between 1960 and 1983, which have had a major influence on the field of developmental education. (AYC)

Criticisms have been raised about large scale community college involvement in developmental education. A number of these criticisms seem valid, while others clearly are not. Some of the most commonly voiced concerns include the following: (1) "The community college is the wrong place to provide developmental education"; (2)…

This position paper by the Illinois Association for Personalized Learning Programs (IAPLP) argues that developmental education programs provide the means for improving the quality of education while maintaining equal opportunity and access to higher education. First, a summary of the IAPLP's position on developmental education is presented, along…

Reports findings on the continued positive effect of remedial/developmental programs on both retention and academic performance of skills deficient students who entered both public and private higher education institutions in New Jersey. (Author/DMM)

Reviews four types of student retention models identified in the literature (i.e., psychological, economic, organizational, and interactional). Describes and offers examples of four levels of developmental education programs, and identifies eight critical pedagogical components of developmental education. (DMM)

This examination of the issues of reform pertinent to adult and developmental education focuses largely on the activities and recommendations of the Learning, Assessment, Retention Consortium (LARC) of California with respect to these concerns. The first sections of the paper address the problem of underprepared college students, and the policy…

In an effort to help basic skills students learn the skills they need to survive in college-level studies and remediate critical areas as quickly as possible, many community colleges have overlooked the value of other studies and the more general literacy that is essential to any education. By rushing to comply with students' utilitarian goals,…

Makes a distinction between developmental and remedial programs and suggests reasons for the difficulty in evaluating these programs. Identifies basic limitations in educational research, factors found in successful programs, questions to be considered in selecting and formulating the evaluation design, and five useful educational research…

Describes several models for the design, evaluation, and delivery of developmental programs, including the Expanded Individualized Prescriptive Instruction system (which includes placement, counseling, and intervention phases), and the Developmental Pyramid Model (which includes diagnosis, prescription, evaluation, and advising/tutoring). (DMM)

Urges two-year colleges to embrace the academic education of underprepared students as part of their institutional mission, provide appropriate remedial courses for students with lower academic skills, and offer workshops and training sessions for faculty to equip them with the skills needed to properly assist and teach these students. (DMM)

Drawing from the literature of the 1950s and more recently published articles from the 1980s, this essay attempts to analyze the extent to which the field of developmental education has changed and/or remained the same over the past 30 years. Comparisons are drawn with respect to the following: (1) the cognitive and affective scope of…

Describes a study of the effectiveness of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), high school graduation class percentile, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), as predictors of short- and long-term academic achievement among a sample of 58 high-risk college freshmen who participated in 1-year special studies program. (PAA)

Reviews studies on the whole-language approach of pairing reading and writing courses to enhance the learning in both. Describes a study of 154 students enrolled in basic writing. Results suggest that simultaneous enrollment in a reading class will not significantly influence ability to pass basic writing. (PAA)