The recent focus on improving college completion rates has resulted in the paring down--or complete removal--of semester-long developmental education courses. Considering the magnitude these policies have on placement, teaching, and learning outcomes, this study examined faculty observations (N=420) about students' current and longitudinal college…

Community colleges play an important role in providing first and second generation immigrants access to higher education and the opportunity to earn a postsecondary credential. However, immigrant students may face obstacles in pursuit of a postsecondary degree, particularly second language challenges that can inhibit their success in college-level…

This report summarizes key findings and recommendations from a Community College Research Center (CCRC) study designed to help community colleges develop strategies for improving the rate at which academically underprepared students take and pass initial college-level (or "gatekeeper") courses in math and English. CCRC conducted the…

Developmental education, also termed remedial education, refers to curricula intended to improve the academic skills and knowledge of students who are underprepared for undergraduate coursework, particularly in the areas of mathematics, reading, and writing. Many practitioners and researchers agree that developmental education should be improved,…

A significant challenge in higher education is to narrow the educational attainment gap between academically prepared and unprepared students. To this end, developmental or remedial education is intended to improve the academic skills and knowledge of students who are unprepared for undergraduate coursework, particularly in the areas of…

The first portion of this paper discusses the procedure for placing freshmen in a remedial composition course at a small liberal arts college. The design of the basic skills test used for placement is criticized on the basis of the inappropriateness of both content and format (multiple choice) in determining which students required remedial…

In March 1977, the New Jersey Board of Higher Education created the New Jersey Basic Skills Assessment Program. To direct the program, the Board created the Basic Skills Council, which was charged with developing a test in reading, writing, and mathematics for all freshmen entering all New Jersey public colleges and universities. The purpose was…

The Writing Assessment Test (WAT), the City University of New York's instrument for evaluating college-level writing, has been a subject of controversy since its evolution from an exit exam to a placement exam. Bronx Community College's success in having both faculty and students pay less attention to the WAT in its English-as-a-Second-Language…

Community college developmental English students passed Composition I at a higher rate than did non-developmental students, confirming the effectiveness of developmental English courses. However, the lack of a significant relationship between placement test scores and students' grades in all writing-intensive courses raised concerns about…

This information capsule explores the effectiveness of score ranges on the Computerized Placement Test (CPT), used to assess the skills of entry-level students at Miami-Dade Community College and place first-time-in-college students in classes. Data are provided for students entering in Fall terms 1996 and 1997 showing the number of students…

In 1981, as part of its implementation of Roueche's model for developmental education, Pima Community College (PCC) initiated its first collegewide assessment and placement program. Faculty in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics met to establish scores on which recommendations for student course placement would be based. A study was…

An evaluation is presented of the remedial programs in each of New Jersey's 32 public colleges and universities. The academic outcome of full-time students entering in fall 1984 is tracked over four semesters. This analysis combines measures of the colleges' administrative efficiency in testing and enrolling students in needed remedial courses,…

A major concern for those in higher education is whether the instruments they use for screening students are valid and predictive. Of particular interest is whether a grammar test, used in many institutions to screen students for developmental English, and a reading comprehension test, used to screen students for developmental reading, truly…

Results are presented for a study of the in- and out-of-class literacy demands made on community college students and their responses to these demands. After an executive summary, introductory material reviews the issues of adult literacy and literacy development in the community college. The first of the report's two sections describes…