What Happens to Underprepared First-Time-in-College Students When Developmental Education is Optional? The Case of Developmental Math and Intermediate Algebra in the First Semester

Park, Toby; Woods, Chenoa S.; Hu, Shouping; Jones, Tamara Bertrand; Tandberg, David A.

doi:10.1080/00221546.2017.1390970

Cited by 29 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Of our sample, 91.5% enrolled in English Composition 1 and 54.8% enrolled in Intermediate Algebra. The low math course-taking rate aligns with previous research that given the option, students may choose to enroll in developmental math or delay enrollment in any math course (Park, Woods, Hu, Bertrand Jones, & Tandberg, 2017;Park et al, 2016;.…”

Section: Data and Samplesupporting

confidence: 76%

How High School Coursework Predicts Introductory College-Level Course Success

Woods

Park

et al. 2018

Community College Review

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In recent years, developmental education (DE) reform has led to a restructuring of the placement process, redesigning of course instructional modalities, or implementing student support services to supplement developmental coursework. In Florida, recent legislative changes allowed students to opt out of placement testing and enroll directly in college-level courses regardless of academic ability. The purpose of this study is to understand how students' high school transcript information can be used in the academic advising process when students are no longer required to take standardized placement tests. Method: We used a combination of high school courses from statewide student-level data and conducted logistic regression analyses to understand how these courses help predict success in English Composition 1 and Intermediate Algebra. We also developed student profiles and presented predicted probabilities to illustrate how students with different combinations of high school coursework were predicted to pass their courses. Results: The results indicated that, generally, when students enrolled in introductory college-level courses, those with higher levels of high school preparation were predicted to pass at higher rates. However, even students whose coursework designated them as college-ready had predicted passing rates of 69.5% in English and 47.6% in Intermediate Algebra. Contributions: We recommend that college academic advisors use high school coursework, in addition to other factors, when advising students into courses and that advisors support students' success by referring them to appropriate support services. We call for additional research to further understand how high school coursework can be used for flexible placement policies.

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Section: Data and Samplesupporting

confidence: 76%

How High School Coursework Predicts Introductory College-Level Course Success

Woods

Park

et al. 2018

Community College Review

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“…There is emerging research investigating the unique version of selfplacement being implemented in Florida under SB 1720, which allows students to ''opt-out'' of remediation. Findings thus far indicate that after the policy shift in 2014, significantly more students took the gateway math courses required for college graduation but pass rates in these courses declined (Hu et al, 2016;Park et al, 2018). But researchers also found that a greater number of students ultimately completed the math required for college graduation.…”

Section: Prior Research On Self-placementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, DSP may actually generate worse outcomes than placement testing if it encourages certain student groups to select a less rigorous course than they would have otherwise qualified for, which risks unnecessarily lengthening the amount of time needed to earn a degree. Indeed, Park et al (2018) noted equity concerns with Florida’s self-placement policy, since Black students and female students were less likely to enroll in gateway math courses than White and male students, respectively. Again, whether this is attributable to the policy itself or merely to demographic changes in the college student population is unknown.…”

Section: Prior Research On Self-placementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An evaluation of Florida’s SB 1720 found that its version of self-placement was associated with an increase in the percentage of students passing developmental education courses and enrolling in gateway college-level courses; however, the study also found a decrease in the percentage of students passing gateway courses (Hu et al, 2016). In particular, Black students and female students were more likely to take developmental education courses relative to other groups following the policy change (Park, Woods, Hu, Jones, & Tandberg, 2018). Although these studies provide an assessment of Florida’s policy change, the evaluation designs are descriptive and do not provide causal estimates of self-placement.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Giving Community College Students Choice: The Impact of Self-Placement in Math Courses

Kosiewicz

Ngo

2019

American Educational Research Journal

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This study examines the impact of a “natural experiment” that gave students the choice to place into or out of developmental math because of an unintended mistake made by a community college. During self-placement, more students chose to enroll in gateway college- and transfer-level math courses, however, greater proportions of female, Black, and Hispanic students enrolled in the lowest levels of math relative to test-placed counterparts. Difference-in-difference estimates show that self-placement led to positive outcomes, but mostly for White, Asian, and male students. This evidence suggests areas of concern and potential for improvement for self-placement policies. Self-determination theory, behavioral decision theory, and stereotype vulnerability provide possible explanations for the observed changes.

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“…There is no indication that these findings have changed since. Eliminating developmental courses and requiring co-requisite supplemental classes or the completion of computer-assisted modules are other trends in supporting under-prepared students (see, e.g., [14], [17]). Even if such courses are eliminated, it is left to the mathematics professor to prepare students who are not yet ready for college-level classes so they can advance and earn their undergraduate degrees.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%