Students are ready for college level course work

Students who are ready to take college level course work when they begin their post-secondary education are more likely to earn a degree or credential and do so sooner than students who must take developmental courses as prerequisites to college-level courses.  Developmental coursework is typically defined as reading, writing and math courses that are below the 100-level and usually do not count toward a student’s degree or certificate program.

The role of developmental education is a powerful one; it provides a bridge to post-secondary success for those students who are not adequately prepared. Community colleges now enroll 40 percent of all college students, and nearly 60 percent of these community college students are considered academically unprepared for all college-level coursework.  Community colleges have an open admission policy, meaning that enrollment is open to nearly all students, and therefore most students are given a placement test to assess their preparedness for and placement into college-level coursework; Central Oregon Community College uses the College Board ACCUPLACER test. 

In Central Oregon, 72 percent of students who graduated from a local public high school between 2004-05 and 2010-11 and then enrolled at COCC as their first postsecondary institution between 2005-06 and 2011-12 took at least one developmental math, reading and/or writing course.

Data Source: Oregon College and Career Readiness Research Alliance at REL Northwest.

References: MDRC. “Developmental Education: A Barrier to a Postsecondary Credential for Millions of Americans.” (February 2013). Accessed February 12, 2015. http://www.mdrc.org/publication/developmental-education-barrier-postsecondary -credential-millions-americans.

Community College Research Center. “Developmental Education and Adult Basic Skills.” Accessed February 4, 2015. http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Developmental-Education-and-Adult-Basic-Skills.html.

Students are ready for college-level coursework