In 1989, a survey was conducted of 1,003 two-year colleges and 997 four-year colleges to identify criteria used to place students into Calculus I and II, determine respondents' perceptions of the effectiveness of the placement procedures, and gather information on the first-year calculus curricula of the schools. Study findings, based on usable…

Hanging onto kids who might otherwise leave school is the mission of the Options Complex at Margaret A. Ireland School in Cleveland. Options Complex is a program for students in grades 6-12 who are behind in school by two or more years. Much of the concern about dropout rates has focused on improving high schools. Experts say that struggling…

There has been much debate on the politics and pedagogies of bilingual education in K-12 schools, but conspicuously absent in this debate are institutions of higher education. English-only ideologies are deeply embedded and rarely questioned in U.S. institutions of higher education, which predominantly require English language proficiency to…

With passage of House Bill 3103 in 2004, the Legislature recognized the challenges facing students as they move from one educational sector to another. The omnibus legislation, which amended and clarified the mission of the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) called on the board to work with the state board of education, the superintendent…

The population of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners has increased significantly in higher education settings in the United States today. It has been reported that Japanese ESL students are generally unsuccessful when studying in English speaking countries. The typical way of reading in English for Japanese students is the…

This paper describes a study conducted on a group of reverse transfer students (students that enroll at two-year colleges after attending a four-year baccalaureate institution) to increase knowledge about this growing population and address the shortcomings of previous research. Almost 1,400 reverse transfer students were sent surveys. According…

This publication presents information on the outcomes of high school. It begins with an overview, "Youth at the Crossroads: Facing High School and Beyond," which suggests there are fundamental educational gaps among African American and Latino high school students and White students. The main article, "Are Today's Graduates Ready?" (Kati Haycock…

Sociology instructors have begun adding student response systems to support conceptual application in college courses. While little has been published about how these devices affect learning behavior in our discipline, research from other fields suggests clickers may enhance learning by encouraging engagement through collaborative talk. This paper…

Two-year college faculty (160 responses of 396 surveyed) displayed significant disagreement on the need for reform in the first accounting course, with substantive arguments on both sides. Senior faculty were more strongly opposed to changes. (SK)

This study examined how pre-transfer experiences and preparation, along with post-transfer experiences, influenced the adjustment of community college transfer students to life at a four-year university campus. A survey of 372 community college transfer students attending a large, public four-year university measured the students' academic…

Aiming at empowering students with the NCTE's 21st century literacies, this discussion investigated what role Web 2.0 technologies play in first-year college students' writing practices and what challenges students face while using computer technology for writing. Based on input from a national sample of 37 writing teachers, pedagogical…

This publication, issued twice per year, includes proceedings from Two-Year College Chemistry Conferences and papers of special interest to the two-year college chemistry teacher. In this issue, content and curriculum of first-year courses and nonmajor courses are discussed, and special instructional methods in chemistry involving the computer are…

Preparing students for college and careers in the 21st century has shed light on text complexity as an important variable for consideration in English Language Arts. Authors of The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) define text complexity as broad, highlighting qualitative, rather than quantitative evaluations of narrative fiction as appropriate…

This study extends and makes unique methodological contributions to research on the impact of learning communities (LCs) on community college students. Much of the previous research was short-term, lacked adequate comparison groups, and focused on four-year college students. This four-year study controlled for instructor-related variables by…

California is in the process of transitioning to new English language arts and mathematics standards that will better prepare students to be successful in college and their careers. Time, effort, and resources must be dedicated to effective implementation in order to realize the promise of these new common core state standards. This paper captures…