The corequisite model is a promising developmental education reform effort that is helping students transition into college-level coursework more quickly. The purpose of this Brief is to offer recommendations to college leaders, faculty, and staff involved with implementing the corequisite model at their institution. Our recommendations are from a…

Community colleges continue to increase their efforts to better serve students who enter their institutions with limited basic math, reading, or writing skills. In 2015, MDRC partnered with the Texas Coordinating Higher Education Board on a study to examine how colleges implemented state guidelines for students scoring below ninth-grade…

The thoughtful utilization of student course evaluation data has been documented in the literature as a way to significantly improve student learning outcomes and the overall quality of instruction. However, at many community colleges, course evaluations continue to be used only for summative purposes or as a generic measure of instructor…

The purpose of the current study was to determine if three community colleges were serving developmental education students in an effective and cost-efficient manner, make observations about the developmental education demographics, and conclude if Senate Bill 162 (SB 162) increased the percentage of college ready students who participated in…

This study hypothesizes that course passing rates in remedial mathematics classes can be improved through early identification of at-risk students using a department-wide midterm, followed by a mandated set of online intervention assignments incorporating immediate and elaborate feedback for all students identified as "at-risk" by their…

"Open access" is a core mission component of the community college. Through this mission, public two-year colleges provide postsecondary opportunities to nearly all individuals desiring further education. However, access is not necessarily synonymous with success. Many students, including black males, have concerning levels of success, or the lack…

The most recent data available from the National Center for Educational Statistics (2004) estimate that 60% of community college freshmen and 25% of freshmen at 4-year public institutions nationwide complete at least one remedial course. Nationally, fewer than 40% of students who are referred to developmental education actually enroll in…

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 Virginia Community College System (VCCS) is engaged in a strategic planning process to improve performance beyond the goals in "Dateline 2009," the system's current vision and plan. A key objective is to encourage colleges to improve retention and academic success for students, particularly the substantial numbers who arrive…

Identifies and refutes seven myths regarding developmental education. Indicates that developmental education programs have a long history in America, raise academic standards, contribute to retention, are cost-effective, serve a diverse population, should not be limited to community colleges, and do not repeat high school course offerings.…

The Virginia STEPS (Student/Teacher Education Planning System) was developed to enable adult basic education (ABE) students to become independent learners responsible for planning, carrying out, evaluating, and making adjustments in their education. ABE instructors at Blackhawk Technical College in Wisconsin have adapted the STEPS model to make…

In spring 1988, Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC), in Palos Hills, Illinois, implemented "College Success," a course to increase student academic performance and improve college retention. Students in the course learned a variety of techniques to help them succeed in college, including note-taking skills, time management, memory…