Dismantling the Developmental Education Pipeline: Potent Pedagogies and Promising Practices That Address the College Readiness Gap

Abstract

This commentary explores pedagogical, societal, and political aspects of the college/career readiness reform movement as it impacts students in secondary classrooms. The authors begin with a snapshot of the students often left in the shadows of educational reform efforts, leaving them academically underprepared and destined for college developmental education. Then, the authors share their perspective related to the potential of the Common Core State Standards to raise student achievement and close achievement gaps. Finally, they highlight college preparation programs that seek to address this gap, along with promising practices supporting the aspirations of these students to pursue educational opportunities beyond secondary school.

College Reading and Studying: The Complexity of Academic Literacy Task Demands

“…Yancey described these differences as a parallel universe with diverse reading and writing expectations from previous experiences. Additionally, the literacy demands vary greatly from institution to institution and even from professor to professor, which makes it difficult to quantify exactly what the expectations will be for students (Henry & Stahl, ; Yancey, ). Thus, the literacy demands that students experience may vary greatly from national or local college readiness standards.…”

Where to Go From Here? Toward a Model of 2-Year College Students’ Postsecondary Pathway Selection

“…Research has pointed to factors that contribute to declining college completion. These include academic preparation, delayed entry, enrollment intensity, financial support, retention efforts, reduced institutional resources, and limited or nonexistent structures aimed toward points of transition among higher education institutions (Bound et al, 2010; Henry & Stahl, 2017; Shapiro et al, 2016; U.S. Department of Education, 2011).…”

Pedagogical Reflection

“…Bridge programs exist as one way institutional leaders increase access and are so named because they bridge the gap between high school and college, particularly when students are thought to be underprepared for collegiate study. Henry and Stahl (2017) noted the "effects of being underprepared and/or misprepared for the next step grow exponentially" (p. 612) and argued that bridge programs can help align students to the rigors of college-level academics.…”