This resource provides data on state and systemwide developmental education assessment and placement policies. Depending on the unique higher education governance structure in each state, a state may have several policies included in this resource. System-level initiatives, programs and collaborations are excluded from this review. A few states…

Developmental education, in which college students deemed unprepared for college-level coursework enroll in non-credit-bearing courses, is widespread in American higher education. This study evaluates the effect of mobile app courseware on the college outcomes of developmental education students. We used a research design that randomly assigned…

Post-secondary education enrollment and completion disparities exist for Minnesota's Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) and lower-income students. One outcome measure demonstrating the impact of system-fed disparities in K-12 education is a student's level of readiness for college-level courses following high school graduation. Given…

Developmental education assessment and placement policies guide how students may demonstrate college readiness and are placed into college-level courses. States and postsecondary systems use a variety of measures to determine a student's college readiness. Often, policies require that students submit scores from a national, standardized test. Some…

The purpose of this article is to explore SI's alignment to theories of adult learning and development which are the underpinnings of developmental education. We begin by identifying adult learning and development theories that have influenced the field of developmental education and then examine descriptions of SI in the literature to explore…

Over the past decade, policymakers, educators, and administrators in community colleges and other broad-access postsecondary institutions have focused on reforming developmental education practices, including how students are assessed as needing additional academic support. Concurrent with widespread changes in practice, researchers have engaged…

The Iowa Department of Education (Department) collects information on developmental education (dev. ed.) from Iowa's 15 community colleges on an annual basis. Dev. ed. courses are offered in mathematics, reading, writing, English as a Second Language (ESL), and in other subject areas, such as financial literacy and skill building. These credits do…

Twenty-six states or systems have authorized the use of innovative developmental education instructional methods and interventions. This resource provides data on the use of instructional methods, and which ones are used or allowed per state. [View the full "50-State Comparison: Developmental Education Policies" here:…

In October 2022, the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR) released a systematic review of evaluation literature on developmental education reforms to identify interventions found to have positive effects on student outcomes entitled, "Five Principles for Developmental Education: A Review of the Evidence" (see…

This resource provides data on reporting requirements determined by state statute. Only statutorily created requirements are included. In this resource, the following categories are used: (1) student populations (e.g., recent high school graduates, total number or percentage of students enrolled in developmental courses); (2) student…

"Getting Prepared 2021" examines Minnesota public high school graduates from the classes of 2013-2020 who enrolled in postsecondary education and those enrolled in developmental education. This report provides insight into the academic readiness of Minnesota public high school graduates. Developmental education courses add to the overall…

"Remedial Trap." "Bridge to Nowhere." "Completion Divide." Such language used to describe the field of Developmental Education (DE), especially by those outside the field, is undeniably deficit oriented. In this manuscript, we initiate a dialog that critiques such portrayals of DE, particularly those that appear in…

The article provides recent state and system wide developmental education (DE) policy mandates and reforms for all 50 states. The rationale is to determine how states are refining the assessment, placement, instruction, and advisement of students deemed noncollege ready and who are advised or mandated to enroll in traditional or innovative DE…

Efforts to strengthen the pipeline to college degree completion have focused on improving college access and providing academic, social, and financial supports to students post-enrollment. This paper explores one facet of postsecondary education that has served as a barrier to both college access and success--developmental education--which has…

Each year, millions of students enroll in open-access two-year colleges with the hope of earning skills, training, and most importantly, a degree that will allow them to pursue their goals, including transferring to a four-year institution. Developmental, or remedial, education has been found to present multiple barriers to two-year student…