Nationwide, community colleges struggle with how to improve the poor outcomes of students referred to developmental education. Based on a case study of an urban community college system, this paper sets forth an "opposing forces framework" to help diagnose the underlying issues that may thwart colleges' efforts to improve developmental outcomes.…

This annual newsletter contains updates on the latest Community College Research Center (CCRC) research, new publications and details of upcoming presentations at major conferences. The feature article in this issue, "Improving Community College Assessment and Placement," by Thomas Bailey, discusses how the process of assessment and…

Community colleges are grappling with low rates of degree completion and transfer. The City University of New York's (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) aims to improve graduation rates by providing a range of comprehensive support services to community college students in select majors. Using student-unit record data, we…

The Critical Success Factors Report is the North Carolina Community College System's major accountability document. This annual performance report is based on data compiled from the previous year and serves to inform colleges and the public on the performance of North Carolina's 58 community colleges. In 1993, the State Board of Community Colleges…

Placement exams are high-stakes assessments that determine many students' college trajectories. More than half of entering students at community colleges are placed into developmental education in at least one subject, based primarily on scores from these assessments, yet recent research fails to find evidence that placement into remediation…

The Critical Success Factors Report is the North Carolina Community College System's major accountability document. This annual performance report serves to inform colleges and the public on the performance of North Carolina's 58 community colleges. In 1993, the State Board of Community Colleges began monitoring performance data on specific…

Community colleges play an important role in the U.S. economy, providing access to higher education for low-income young people, a path to higher-earning employment for low-income workers, and a supply of well-trained employees for local industry. In order to remain competitive with other major economies, however, the U.S. must sharply increase…

The Breaking Through (BT) initiative promotes an expanded and enhanced role for community colleges in providing access to college for low-skilled adults. BT is uniquely important in its systematic integration of adult education, developmental/remedial education, professional-technical education (PTE), and career planning and preparation in…

One of the greatest challenges that community colleges face in their efforts to increase graduation rates is improving the success of students in their developmental, or remedial, education programs--the courses that students without adequate academic preparation must take before they can enroll in courses for college credit. Emphasizing results…

A Task Force of developmental education professionals in New York was convened to consider issues related to the evaluation of developmental programs from a statewide perspective. This report provides a summary of the two Task Force sessions and resulting recommendations and plans for action. Introductory material provides background on the…

This report presents the findings of a survey designed to gather information about the experiences and attitudes of students enrolled in developmental English courses at Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC). The primary purpose of the study was to find out how satisfied students were with their experiences related to their English placement…

This document is a listing of various Pensacola Junior College (PJC) 1997 institutional accountability measures. Highlights include: (1) 33.4% of 1993-95 first-time students were Florida public high-school graduates the previous year; (2) 51% of 1993 Associate in Arts (AA) students had graduated or were still enrolled; (3) 67% of 1993 Associate in…

Discusses the necessity of using research to evaluate developmental educational programs and policies, using all college-level courses as measures of effectiveness. Provides policy recommendations. (11 citations) (YKH)

Santa Fe Community College (Florida) has used computerized adaptive testing with students placed in developmental reading, writing, and mathematics courses. Computerized adaptive testing utilizes the capabilities of microcomputers to adapt examinations to the abilities of individual students, may be less threatening to students, is preferred by…

This three-part concept paper was the result of a colloquium, during which 35 community college educators met in Traverse City, Michigan, to discuss issues related to access, assessment, and developmental education and to develop concept papers and recommendations for each topic. First, introductory material describes the colloquium and its…