The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe how first-year college students describe the academic benefits and effectiveness of participating in a developmental education program in preparing them for academic success. The theoretical frameworks supporting this study were Bandura's theory of self-efficacy and Tinto's theory…

Following a discussion of various methods of evaluating the effectiveness of developmental programs, this paper presents a research design for the evaluation of a developmental math program. First, the paper examines the objectives and benefits of conducting formative and summative program evaluations. The paper then identifies the single group…

These five serial issues focus on the outcomes of developmental education. Featured are the following articles: (1) "Developmental Instruction: What Really Makes a Difference?" by Hunter R. Boylan, which reviews several research-based models or theories of learning, including the Carroll model, the Bloom model, and the Bruner model, and discusses…

These three serial issues focus on the characteristics and administration of developmental education programs. The following articles are featured: (1) "Characteristics of Successful Programs," which reviews research findings concerning the characteristics associated with effective and ineffective developmental programs and includes a list of…

Despite their vital role in open-access, two-year colleges, remedial education efforts have increasingly come under attack by legislators and the public, who view such programs as duplicating the appropriate function of high schools, and who believe that limited state resources should be devoted to more prestigious programs. For a college to…