Colleges and Redesign
This paper contends that, although there is much to commend in the remediation reform movement, it is unlikely to attain its goals. These goals include the Lumina Foundation’s target of having 60% of Americans attain a degree or certificate, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s goal of doubling the number of low income students who earn a postsecondary degree, and President Obama’s goal of the U.S. having the world’s highest percentage of degree holders by 2020.
Achieving the Dream uses student outcome data from various educational institutions to focus on institutional change. The organization “seeks to help more students earn postsecondary credentials, including occupational certificates and degrees, by working with institutions to improve student progression” (Achieving the Dream, 2005). They focus on helping student groups that traditionally have faced barriers to success.
Argues that most of the major criticisms of developmental education are either based on seriously flawed research or have been misrepresented by advocacy groups to support their agenda.
These principles are designed to serve as a guide for state policy makers seeking to improve postsecondary developmental education through mandated statewide innovations. They are based on sound principles of research and policy analysis and should be considered when implementing new policies and programs in developmental education.
After learning that his obituary had been published in the New York Journal, Mark Twain responded that "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." The same might be said for remedial courses; reports of their failure are greatly exaggerated. Based on either misinterpretation or misrepresentation of the available research, many policy makers and higher education organizations are asserting that remediation has failed. This is not a valid assertion, nor one that is supported by a careful reading of the available research.
Reform movements aimed at improving success and completion rates of underprepared students at America’s two-year colleges are sweeping the country. Legislatures from Florida to Washington, from Connecticut to Colorado, are mandating reform.