To examine the effects of developmental and remedial course participation on student retention and academic performance, Sinclair Community College, in Ohio, undertook a study of outcomes after 3 years for the 1,798 first-time, degree or certificate students who enrolled in fall 1990. Students were grouped based on need for remedial coursework and participation in remedial courses, while performance measures included ratio of credit hours earned to those attempted, cumulative grade point average (GPA), and selected grades. Study findings included the following: (1) overall, 40.4% of the cohort were still enrolled by spring 1993; (2) students who took all recommended developmental courses had a higher retention rate than those who took some recommended courses, who took no courses, and who did not need remediation; (3) students who took all recommended coursework had a higher ratio of credit hours attempted and were more likely to succeed in English and math courses than those who took only some or none of their recommended coursework; (4) academic success measured by GPA could not be predicted by developmental course participation, since credit hours in developmental classes are not included in cumulative records; and (5) with respect to performance in college-level English and mathematics courses, students who took recommended developmental courses performed at a satisfactory level in their subsequent coursework, though not better than those with higher placement scores. (Data tables are appended.) (KP)