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Nationally, 67% of African Americans entering college require developmental education, 58% of Hispanics, and 47% of whites (47%) Many students, about 65%, are from low-income backgrounds. (Complete College America, 2012)

Change

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The study with Greg underscores the complex situation students who have ambitions to earn a college degree. Many factures influence completion. Community Crossroads explores one story, a story I hope will complicate the conversation about what it means today to enter college, especially those folks entering developmental education courses. 

 

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President Obama's initiative to achieve the highest level of postsecondary education is even more ambitious when one considers that so many students are in need of basic skills. The goal comes, as well, at a time when groups like Complete College America appear to want to not just re-design developmental education but cut it or even eliminate it. 

Quick Fax: Developmental Education

Who?

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About 2 million college students (30%) each year are required to take deveopmental education courses designed for those whose entrance scores are below college-level in math, reading, and/or writing.

What?

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​A series of developmental coursework in math, reading, and/or writing creates a series of steps that create "exit points" that show students often do not complete their dev-ed pathway to credit-bearing courses. Registering for a course and re-registering for the next one are where students often "exit" college.

 

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​For students who start college in dev-ed, completion rates for earning a degree or certificate is less than 25% (Baily & Cho, 2010), so a movement is challenging the value of developmental education, which has been a part of college and university for over a hundred years.

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