This chapter discusses the importance of scrutinizing the outcomes of developmental education reforms across race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, and level of developmental need.

Many students enter higher education with poor preparation for college mathematics courses. These students are often placed through high-stakes placement testing into developmental coursework that bear no credit towards graduation, but many students who begin in developmental coursework never succeed in a college-level mathematics course. Recent…

In October 2022, the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR) released a systematic review of evaluation literature on developmental education reforms to identify interventions found to have positive effects on student outcomes entitled, "Five Principles for Developmental Education: A Review of the Evidence" (see…

Postsecondary institutions and systems across the nation have demonstrated remarkable progress since the first "Core Principles for Transforming Remediation Within a Comprehensive Student Success Strategy" was published in 2015 (see ED561279). Building on this progress, the Summary Details Education Commission of the States (ECS) has…

The Math Remediation Task Force is comprised of faculty from two-year, four-year comprehensive, and four-year flagship higher education institutions throughout the state of New Mexico. Its members have varying levels of experience with designing/implementing multiple math remediation programs including traditional, co-requisite and acceleration…

Over the past decade, policymakers, educators, and administrators in community colleges and other broad-access postsecondary institutions have focused on reforming developmental education practices, including how students are assessed as needing additional academic support. Concurrent with widespread changes in practice, researchers have engaged…

There is wide agreement that the well-paying jobs of the future will require postsecondary credentials. But for many students attending community college, developmental (or remedial) classes in reading, composition, and/or mathematics--the courses that students often must complete before they can enroll in courses that confer credit toward a…

America's education system faces enormous challenges that need to be addressed urgently and systemically. Greater emphasis is now being placed on ensuring that every student, including low-income students and students of color, achieve their potential, but major challenges remain. Far too many public schools have not changed quickly enough to meet…

The National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE), consisting of a national commission, research advisory group, and research team at New York University, aims to provoke thoughtful and actionable discussions about the mobility and educational opportunities for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs)…

Explores the realities of change facing a successful junior college which must become a regional four-year university. Identifies and discusses (in a response by William G. White Jr.) the problems and issues relative to the developmental program at Evans County Junior College on the eve of its conversion to regional university--Jan Norton…

Explores the current research on the effectiveness of remedial courses. Defines remediation in relation to developmental education, discusses the purpose of such courses, and explores the circumstances under which remedial courses succeed or fail in the accomplishment of their goals. Asserts that all students who require remediation should expect…

Presents an interview conducted with John N. Gardner, Senior Fellow of the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at the University of South Carolina, regarding developmental education. Discusses topics that include: beginning college experience, student learning needs, a new paradigm for developmental…

This report provides an overview of the Learning Center at South Plains College (Texas) during the 1998-99 academic year. Since its inception in 1980, the Learning Center has offered developmental courses, collegiate instruction in reading and human development, peer-tutoring, computer-aided instruction, independent-study opportunities, workshops…

Explores the essence of developmental education, looking at its roots in the American higher education system, and discusses how it evolved into its present state. Provides a student case study and four assumptions underlying the National Association for Developmental Education's working definition of developmental education. Contains 13…

Issues pertaining to underprepared students in colleges are addressed in five papers and an annotated bibliography. In "Can Higher Education Be Equal and Excellent Too?" K. Patricia Cross claims that colleges can provide equal access and quality if major changes are made concerning such outmoded practices as faculty-load formulas and…