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Students Inspire Me to Do More
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Dear SSTF Network,
Recently, I learned that “Dwayne,” a young Black man whom I’d mentored, completed his bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics. I was excited because after two semesters in community college developmental math (where he was placed), an instructor spoke with Dwayne about enrolling into corequisite math following the college’s implementation of developmental education reform efforts.
In this course, Dwayne developed a love for math and decided to major in the subject. He transferred into a local university within three and a half years of entering community college—a feat that students rarely achieve when developmental education is their starting point.
Dwayne’s story exemplifies what’s possible when institutions provide avenues out of developmental education, and faculty create classroom environments that cultivate student success.
When we replace barriers such as high-stakes placement exams and developmental education course sequences with advancements like multiple measures assessments and corequisite courses, we can unlock student potential.
Stories like these are one of the reasons I’m excited to serve as the Director of SSTF. Together, we can implement these critical reforms in developmental education, so more students like Dwayne truly have an opportunity to succeed.
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Onward,
Maxine Roberts, PhD
Director, Strong Start to Finish
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Coreqs Are Working Across the Country
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Corequisite courses provide students the opportunity to enroll immediately in credit-bearing, college-level gateway courses, while also taking a corequisite support course during the same semester. These courses are a win-win for students and institutions as they support educational outcomes for Black and Latinx students, and students with low incomes, who are disproportionately placed into traditional developmental courses.
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The benefits of these courses are demonstrated in an exciting new report, No Room for Doubt: Moving Corequisite Support from Idea to Imperative, from our partners at Complete College America. It shares insights on the effectiveness of corequisites and reminds us that higher education institutions and systems–not students–are responsible for addressing outcome gaps.
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ECS 50 State Assessment Comparison
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State policies are increasingly calling for multiple measures assessments in lieu of single-score assessments to determine a student's placement into college-level coursework.
To provide a national perspective on developmental education assessment and placement policies, ECS researched state-level and postsecondary system policies to create this comprehensive resource.
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Concerns about college costs and debt are more important than ever for students and families. The Postsecondary Value Commission, created by our partners at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is working to find a new way of measuring value and how we can take action to reinforce pathways to success.
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