This report analyzes evidence from a new study assessing the effectiveness of Quantway 1 (QW1), a single-term accelerated developmental math course with a focus on quantitative reasoning. Quantway® is one of the Pathways courses (along with Statway®) developed by a network of faculty and content experts convened by the Carnegie Foundation to…

A large number of community college students are developmental students. One of the most important challenges for community colleges today is to create programs that effectively educate community college developmental students. This study examines the effect of learning assistance centers on the success and persistence of students at a Southern…

Developmental education programs and services have long provided underprepared and unprepared postsecondary students with the academic tools and life-management skills necessary to successfully complete collegelevel coursework. Legislation and policy changes, including implementing statewide minimum admissions requirements and restricting…

A study was conducted at a community college in northeast Alabama to determine how the format of developmental English courses impacted student withdrawal rates and final grades. The two course formats examined were online/hybrid and face-to-face courses. Data were obtained from a 4-semester time frame: fall 2012, spring 2013, summer 2013, and…

Using a novel design approach, a randomized experiment (RE) was embedded within a regression discontinuity (RD) design (R-RE-D) to evaluate the impact of developmental mathematics at a large midwestern college ("n" = 2,122). Within a region of uncertainty near the cut-score, estimates of benefit from a prospective RE were closely…

This study investigates how the impact of developmental education is moderated by classroom composition. Drawing on a regression discontinuity design, we used data from 3,429 community college students, nested within 223 classrooms, to explore the extent to which classroom and instructor characteristics moderated the effect of developmental…

Researchers from Kaplan University present findings from a media-rich feedback pilot program that targets students from developmental writing courses. One study of student reactions reveals how screencasting feedback encouraged more formative, holistic feedback and students' awareness of writing process, audience, and revision. A second study…

This study examined barriers experienced by veteran school paraprofessionals attempting to complete a 4-year degree leading to public school teaching credentials. The study followed culturally and linguistically diverse, nontraditional student-participants through their 1st and 2nd years as sophomore/junior students in a large urban university.…

Admission processes at community colleges typically use open door or "first-come, first-served" practices. This type of policy allows all applicants, regardless of prior experience or educational background, to have the same chance of admission into programs. As the number of applications increases, it becomes necessary to investigate…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the developmental education program of the Eastern Campus of Cuyahoga Community College. An evaluative model was constructed by accepting the performance standards and program guidelines that Roueche and Kirk listed in "Catching Up; Remedial Education" (1973), after their study of five successful…

The Fresh Start (FS) program was initiated at Gainesville College (GC), in Georgia, to target at-risk students and improve their overall academic performance and retention. The program provides immediate placement of students into remedial classes, academic support services, intrusive counseling, and long-term computerized tracking to assess…

Describes a study to determine the effect of package courses, (i.e., linked content and skills courses) on the educational outcomes of first-year developmental students. Finds that the experimental group had a higher mean grade point average than the control group, but only for the term of the course. (24 citations) (AJL)

The outcomes of postsecondary developmental education programs in the state of Ohio are the focus of this report. Directors of over 50 developmental education programs funded partially by state funds were asked, in 1976, by a Subcommittee of the Ohio State-wide Advisory Committee on Developmental Education, to report on any efforts made to assess…

This study examined the academic success and retention of first-year college students at a small private university to determine which variables (among the following: gender, high school grade point average (GPA), Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) verbal and quantitative scores, and indicators of placement into developmental courses) were…

This study attempted to determine the effect of a self-development seminar on the learning of 27 randomly selected college freshmen as measured by grade point averages (GPA), academic units completed, and retention rate (the percentage of students returning for a second term) for one semester beginning fall 1977. Both experimental and control…