“In short, developmental education is at a crossroads.”

Author: Kathleen Almy

I recently attended a conference called Reimagining Developmental Education offered by the Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR). It was a phenomenal conference with practitioners and researchers spending two days discussing where we are with developmental education, what’s working, what’s not, and where we go from here. In short, developmental education is at a crossroads.

The sessions included panels as well as breakout sessions on a variety of themes. I spoke at one of the breakout sessions about the transition from high school to college. The panels focused on multiple issues, particularly ones from recent CAPR research. Here are their most recent reports.

• The Changing Landscape of Developmental Education Practices: Findings from a National Survey and Interviews with Postsecondary Institutions
• Gaining Ground: Findings from the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways Impact Study
• Computer-Based Math Remediation: Evidence from Technology-Centered Instruction in Two-Year and Four-Year Colleges
• Content and Connections: Students’ Responses to a Hybrid Emporium Instructional Model in Developmental Mathematics

In preparation for next week’s blog, take a look at the studies above paying close attention to the role of faculty.

In next week’s blog, we will look at one of the specific issues that arose multiple times at the conference: the role of faculty in math reforms. It’s a topic I have strong opinions on after working on multiple reforms, both small and large, and with numerous high schools and colleges. We will explore why faculty can be both the problem and the solution to reform.