Florida State University researchers spent the last year collecting and analyzing data on corequisite developmental education (DE) models in Texas as part of a four-year study that received a $1.5M grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. This study was proposed in response to Texas House Bill (HB) 2223, which…

Research on developmental education reform has given surprisingly limited attention to what happens inside the classroom between faculty and students. Our qualitative study used interview data from 20 faculty and 20 students in corequisite math and English courses at one of the nation's largest and most racially diverse community college systems.…

As online education gains popularity among both learners and postsecondary institutions, there is a movement toward identifying ways to promote student success. Over half of all higher education institutions offer online classes, due in part to the ease of offering and scheduling (Hoffman, 2006); educators seek ways to identify any demographic or…

Developmental education (DE) reform took place among the 28 Florida College System (FCS) institutions in 2014. In this study, we examine how cohort-based passing rates in college-level English and math courses changed at different colleges for pre- and post-policy period and explore what institutional characteristics were related with various…

This study sought to answer if a relationship existed between required corequisite support and success in gateway College Algebra courses. Complete College America and Complete College Georgia initiatives over the last ten years have sought ways to increase access to higher education with high progression and completion rates. Efforts such as the…

Rooted in learning theory and developmental psychology, the field of developmental education is concerned with addressing underprepared students' needs for growth. Much of this development relates to college readiness, thus students considered underprepared for college-level coursework are referred to developmental education coursework in subjects…

Objective: In 2014, Florida implemented Senate Bill 1720 (SB 1720), which drastically reshaped developmental education practices across the 28 public state colleges. Under the reform, around two-thirds of students became exempt from developmental education. Yet, many students were still required to take the placement test. If they scored below…

This paper discusses the result of a statewide research effort in California to improve the accuracy of student placement in math and English in the California Community College system. We apply decision tree methods to high school and college transcript data to identify key measures of high school achievement that predict success in ten levels of…

Background: Developmental education (DE) has been critiqued because of its high cost, the inconclusive evidence as to its effectiveness, and the overrepresentation of underrepresented minority students required to take it. Because Black and Hispanic students are more often referred to developmental courses and may require more levels of…

Until recently, most colleges required students to pass a college-level algebra course in order to earn a degree. As many as 50 percent to 70 percent of community college students enter college unprepared to take these courses, and fewer than 20 percent of such students ever successfully complete a college-level math course; the rest are…

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…

Community colleges are undergoing a transformation. Historically, they have been focused on improving access to higher education; now the focus has shifted to student success. This transformation is evident in the concerted effort to improve student graduation rates and decrease the amount of time spent to complete degrees. For community colleges,…

Originally designed for students who test into at least two levels of developmental education in a particular subject area, FastStart is a compressed course program model launched in 2005 at the Community College of Denver (CCD). The program combines multiple semester-length courses into a single intensive semester, while providing case…

Previously we showed how we measured pedagogy and revealed its association with learning outcomes of sixth-form college mathematics students. In this project we followed a similar approach to the study of university transition. We particularly sought to identify the students' perceptions of the transitional experience, and measure the association…

Large numbers of students arrive at colleges and universities unprepared, specifically in the area of mathematics. In Texas, approximately 47% of entering freshman students enroll in developmental mathematics. Mathematics is cited in the literature as cornerstone for success in science, and advanced technology. In this study, the extent to which…