This study tracks students' progression through developmental math sequences and defines progression as both attempting and passing each level of the sequence. A model of successful progression in developmental education was built utilizing individual-, institutional-, and developmental math-level factors. Employing step-wise logistic regression models, we found that while each additional step improves model fit, the largest proportion of variance is explained by individual-level characteristics, and more variance is explained in attempting each level than passing that level. We identify specific individual and institutional factors associated with higher attempt (e.g., Latino) and passing rates (e.g., small class size) in the different courses of the developmental math trajectory. These findings suggest that colleges should implement programs and policies to increase attempt rates in developmental courses in order to increase passing rates of the math pre-requisite courses for specific certificates, associate degrees or transfer.

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There is considerable debate about the effects and benefits of developmental/basic skills/remediation education in college. Proponents argue that it enables poorly prepared high school students to attain the necessary preparation to succeed in college while critics contend that the benefits of remediation are not clear. The main objective of the article is to provide a critical review of the literature on the impact of developmental math on the educational outcomes and persistence of community college students. The authors first describe three types of summative quantitative evaluations. The authors then review a number of studies that have used these techniques to evaluate the impact of developmental math on a number of educational outcomes of community college students nationwide. In the last section, the authors propose the use of regression discontinuity (RD) design as a feasible evaluation tool that institutional researchers at community colleges can use to identify the level (i.e., number of levels below college level courses), subpopulations (i.e., gender, race/ ethnicity, and age), and institutions (i.e., multicampus district) that are doing a better job in teaching the developmental courses needed to persist in college.