Postsecondary transition programs have emerged to prepare adult learners to enter college with either limited or no remediation work needed in developmental education. This article examines the results of a pilot study, in which participants (ages 20 years and older who held GED® credentials or high school degrees) received accelerated instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, learning framework, and college knowledge. These transition programs, which took place at five sites in Texas, used a short-term (10 weeks or fewer) but intensive (at least 120 contact hours) cohort intervention model. Of the 20 pairs of pre- and postprogram assessments, which evaluated student achievement gains in reading, writing, and, mathematics, 18 resulted in statistically significant increases. However, many participants who realized achievement gains did not reach the college readiness benchmarks (as measured by the assessment instrument) in all three subject areas. However, evidence suggests that these students are better prepared academically than before the program.

This study identified two low-inference variables comprising lesson organization and determined their effect on student achievement. For each of the two main effect variables, two conditions were defined: proper sequence versus manipulated sequence, and explicit organization behaviors present versus explicit organization behaviors absent. Four treatment groups (equated on mathematical ability) were formed by the possible combinations of these conditions. A single lesson on numeration systems was taught to the four groups (67 university students), and achievement was evaluated using an investigator-designedposttest. Although the data indicated no significant effect for sequence, the study did yield a significant effect (p < .01) for explicit organization. No significant aptitudetreatment interaction was found, either for explicit organization or for sequence.The purpose of this investigation was to identify the low-inference teacher behaviors that comprise lesson organization and then to determine their effect on student achievement. The study also examined the possible interaction effect of organization and student ability level. Katona (1940), Gamer (1962), and Mandler (1967 refer to organization as the clarity of the relationships among the parts of a communication. In reviewing the related literature, two instructor-controlled factors emerge as contributing to clarity of relationships: (a) delivering the learning material in the sequence that best reveals the relationships among the parts, and (b) using verbal statements to accentuate the relationships. Empirical support for both of these factors can be found in a variety of sources.