Only 25% to 38% of secondary education graduates in the United States are proficient readers or writers but many continue to postsecondary education, where they take developmental education courses designed to help them improve their basic academic skills. However, outcomes are poor for this population, and one problem may be that approaches to…

Describes a study of student writing completed in one basic writing program. Measures the effectiveness of individual papers written in the program's two-course sequence by rating each against a modified "primary-trait" scoring scale. Finds that students made gains in the trait areas examined. (EMH)

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.…

Examines the effectiveness of a personalized learning assistance intervention to overcome developmental students' procrastination in a computer-based introductory psychology course taught with the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI). An evaluation of the intervention suggests that it was effective in getting the procrastinating students to…

Describes the results of a study that tracked college algebra students who had previously completed an Academic Assistance mathematics course that facilitated collaborative learning. Only 53% of all students who enrolled in college algebra in fall 1994 earned grades of C or higher, but 95% of students who had previously participated in the…

Because of the tremendous growth in college populations in the last 30 years, the number of programs designed to help underprepared students has grown significantly. Whether or not these programs work is still in question. This study used the meta-analysis techniques of Glas (1976) and Hedges (1985) to study a subset of developmental studies…