These three issues of "Research in Developmental Education," examine the demographic characteristics and academic achievement of developmental students. Included are the following: (1) "Demographics and Developmental Education," by Hunter R. Boylan, which examines trends in the developmental student population and their college enrollments; presents data on developmental students' age, race, gender, and high school graduation rates; projects trends after the year 2000; reviews support for developmental programs; and discusses the new opportunities for developmental educators in response to the changing demographics of the American population; (2) "Academic Achievement Trends among Disadvantaged Youth," by Boylan, which offers projections about the academic achievement of college students from disadvantaged backgrounds who will be enrolled during the latter half of the 1980's, reviewing trends in reading, writing, mathematics, and science, and discussing the implications of these trends for developmental education; and (3) "Performance and Retention of Developmental Students: A Five-Year Follow-up Study," by Dale Purvis and Pamela C. Watkins, which compares the academic performance and persistence of a group of 363 non-remediated students, who had low achievement test scores, to a similar group of 239 remediated students at Georgia Southern College between 1979 and 1984. Data tables and references are included. (PAA)