While most community colleges admit all students who apply for admission, the vast majority have required students to demonstrate specified levels of literacy and numeracy before they can take college-level courses. Typically, students have been assessed using a single placement test, such as the College Board's ACCUPLACER. Colleges--or sometimes…

Multiple measures provide additional evidence a student may present, beyond an assessment score, that can indicate college readiness. This resource provides data on multiple measures that may be allowed to determine placement using the following categories: (1) other standardized and normed exams, or locally developed exams; (2) high school…

Developmental Education programs are designed to provide assistance to students who are academically under-prepared for college-level coursework. Previous issues of "Data Notes" compared the outcomes of developmental students completing all of their required developmental courses to those not requiring developmental education. Using data…

Successful college instruction programs have two features that are associated with increased grade point averages and retention: (1) they are comprehensive and meet student needs, and (2) they are better institutionalized into the academic mainstream of the college or university. Several program characteristics are crucial to learning improvement,…

Investigates the effectiveness of developmental skills courses in terms of grade point average, credits earned, retention, goal attainment and degree earned. Suggests that developmental skills courses had no effect on student achievement in any of the measured areas. Contains 9 data tables and 17 references. (JDI)

The outcomes of postsecondary developmental education programs in the state of Ohio are the focus of this report. Directors of over 50 developmental education programs funded partially by state funds were asked, in 1976, by a Subcommittee of the Ohio State-wide Advisory Committee on Developmental Education, to report on any efforts made to assess…

A study investigated whether differences exist in the freshman-level course grades between the "high-risk" college freshmen enrolled in a linked-course developmental program and the other freshmen who were not required to participate in the developmental program. Subjects, 286 "non-developmental" freshmen and 71 freshmen…

This study examined the effect of academic peer mentors on the grade-point averages of underprepared freshmen at Mount Vernon Nazarene College (Ohio), a church-related coeducational college of arts and sciences. Underprepared freshmen at this school are required to participate in the College Experience Enhancement Program. For the fall, 1993 term,…

The Early Warning System (EWS) of the Individualized Study Program (ISP) at the University of California, Davis, was evaluated. Disadvantaged students who have not met the university's entrance requirements are tracked by the EWS during their first year in order to identify academic problems and provide advising and support. Findings include: EWS…

In fall 1985, a study was conducted at Cosumnes River College (CRC) to obtain information about the college's PREP (Personal development, Reading/writing skills, Educational goals, and Preparing for the future) program, follow-up data on students who have enrolled in remedial and non-remedial courses, and enrollment data on remedial students and…

Learning improvement programs for underprepared postsecondary students are reviewed, and a Decision Guide for Effective Programs, which summarizes knowledge needed for decision making, is presented. Research data are analyzed to identify features of learning improvement programs associated with improved grade point average and retention.…

The Individualized Study Program (ISP) at the University of California, Davis, which is designed to enhance retention of students with academic skill deficiencies, was evaluated. The target group was disadvantaged students who had not met the university's entrance requirements. Attention was focused on two aspects of the program: allowing students…

In the second half of a two-part study conducted by the Illinois Community College System, a fall 1990 cohort of first-time freshmen was examined for 6 years to determine the effectiveness of remedial/developmental instruction. Student characteristics of age, ethnicity, and gender for the entire cohort were compared with the cohort group of…

Results of an evaluation of the Individualized Study Program (ISP), a 2-year pilot program at the Learning Skills Center (LSC) of the University of California, Davis, are presented. The program target group were disadvantaged students who had not met the university's entrance requirements. The ISP, which is designed to improve retention of…

A study was conducted to determine the extent to which high school graduates from Florida's Leon County needed remediation to enter college-level mathematics, reading, and writing courses. Records were examined for 2,705 high school graduates from 1992 to 1996 who were first-time college students in a Florida public community college or state…