Reading, Writing, and English Course Pathways when Developmental Education is Optional: Course Enrollment and Success...

Area of Science:

• Higher Education
• Educational Policy
• Student Success

Background:

• Academic underpreparedness affects many community college students.
• Traditional developmental education may not improve student success.
• Florida's Senate Bill 1720 reformed developmental education policies.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine course selection and success of underprepared students exempt from developmental education.
• Analyze the impact of preparation level on gateway English course outcomes.
• Inform policy and practice for developmental education reform.

Main Methods:

• Utilized statewide student-level data.
• Employed logistic regression techniques.
• Focused on students underprepared but exempt from developmental education.

Main Results:

• Preparation level influenced gateway English course enrollment.
• Slightly underprepared students were more likely to enroll in gateway English.
• Slightly underprepared students had higher pass rates in gateway English compared to severely underprepared students.

Conclusions:

• Initial course placement and preparation level are critical for student success.
• Policy changes can impact underprepared students' academic trajectories.
• Findings offer insights for improving developmental education nationwide.