In 2011, under the Florida College and Career Readiness Initiative (FCCRI), Florida made college placement testing mandatory for 11th-grade students who had scored in the midrange of its standardized 10th-grade assessment. Those with placement test scores below college-ready were assigned in 12th grade to college readiness and success…

Community colleges have been engaged for the last sixty years in providing open access to public higher education to anyone with a high school diploma. Recently, disappointing success rates for developmental students have driven some colleges to reduce or restrict access to college based on standardized test scores. The operative phrase in most of…

This study evaluates the Youth Development Program (YDP), a component of the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA). We examine whether the YDP reduced dropout rates among youth in secondary schools in seven school districts in the impoverished Mississippi River Delta in southeast Arkansas. Initially, the program seems to have an impact. Students…

This longitudinal study followed students (n = 265) from kindergarten through seventh grade and examined early social and academic predictors of school performance at two normative school transitions. Questions addressed include: (a) are there changes in students' school performance over time, especially at school transition points; (b) are…

The purpose of the current study was to analyze the relationship between automated essay scoring (AES) and human scoring in order to determine the validity and usefulness of AES for large-scale placement tests. Specifically, a correlational research design was used to examine the correlations between AES performance and human raters' performance.…

This study used the National Educational Longitudinal Study: 88 /2000 (NELS 88: /2000) dataset to explore characteristics associated with college degree attainment. The study was informed by Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. The sample size was 6,832 postsecondary students. The findings revealed that developmental math students were less…

Describes the ASSET, a student success system for two-year institutions designed for student advising, placement, and retention. The American College Testing (ACT) Program's Underprepared Student Follow-up Report (UPSFUR) indicated a successful completion rate for developmental courses. States that UPSFUR can be used to determine placement program…

Contends that the high probability of error in placement decisions based on high school records and standardized test scores delays the academic development of many students placed unnecessarily in mandatory skill development programs. Advocates skills assessment based on current classroom performance. (DMM)

Compares two approaches for preparing students to take standardized reading tests. Discusses study that used a pretest-posttest design with reading-comprehension passages and questions to assess improvement. Suggests that measurable gain in short-term developmental programs may require focusing on a more modest number of teaching objectives,…

A study of 309 African American college students in summer academic enrichment programs at the Medical College of Georgia from 1980-89 found the most significant predictors of medical school admission were the Scholastic Assessment Test math score, summer program grade point average, college grade point average, career aspirations, college type,…

Suggests foreign students in Australia may not be getting preparation needed to integrate successfully into university study. Research is reviewed that indicates these students not only need help preparing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) but also with learning at an Australian university. Academic preparation courses…

A survey of 196 freshmen seeking to identify noncognitive variables influencing pre-college decision making, satisfaction with the freshman experience, and academic confidence found that academically underprepared students were older, went to college later, reported more satisfaction with academic advising, and were less accepting of American…