The Education Commission of the States (ECS), in collaboration with Knowledge in the Public Interest (KPI), Policy Research on Preparation, Access and Remedial Education (PREPARE) at the University of Massachusetts Boston, seeks to leverage developmental education at postsecondary institutions as a critical component of state efforts to increase college attainment rates through Getting Past Go. The national initiative will help education policy leaders align state and system policy to increase the college success of the large percentage of students enrolled in postsecondary education who require remedial and developmental education.
Project Need
To be recognized as a viable component of state strategies to increase college attainment, developmental studies programs must be able to address the following challenges:
- An increasingly diverse population of students to include adults, low-skilled workers and low-income students
- The over-representation of students of color, particularly African American and Latino students
- An increasing number of students who complete their developmental studies courses, immediately enroll in college-level coursework, and persist to a degree or credential
- State P-20 efforts that often view developmental studies programs as a symptom of system failure and not an integral strategy for increasing college attainment
- Completing all of the above in a more cost-effective manner.
To meet these challenges, postsecondary institutions need to examine institutional practice and its relationship to state policy to determine the most viable approaches states can take to ensure all of their residents receive the support they need to access and succeed in higher education.
Getting Past Go: A National Initiative
Getting Past Go will have a significant impact on the formation of state and system policy related to developmental studies through the following set of objectives, outcomes, activities and products:
Project Objectives
- Create a network of state, postsecondary-system and institutional leaders committed to improving developmental studies policy and practice to increase college attainment rates in their states
- Develop model policies and practices that states can consider and adopt that are consistent with their goals and philosophy for increasing college attainment rates for developmental studies students
- Collect and analyze state and system policies and data on developmental studies to provide a clearer picture of state and system approaches to developmental studies
- Integrate developmental studies policies and practices into state P-20 efforts to better align college preparation standards with high school reform efforts
- Partner with state leaders to promote innovative policies and practices for developmental studies.
Project Outcomes
- Complete a comprehensive set of policy research and data that add knowledge to the field of developmental studies to include the impact and implications of specific state policies on effective and efficient implementation of developmental studies programs.
- States will adopt policies and practices related to developmental studies that were informed by the work of the project and through the assistance of ECS and other project participants.
- States will articulate through their state P-20 councils or other statewide efforts to increase college attainment rates the role that developmental studies plays in those efforts.
Project Activities
- Convene a project advisory team made up of state and national leaders with knowledge and experience in developmental studies policy and practice
- Facilitate a series of online dialogues and “jams” with experts, practitioners and policymakers to gather data and information about the key issues that impact developmental studies policy
- Develop an online community of practice made up of policymakers, practitioners and experts who will construct a set of model policies and funding approaches for state and system investment in developmental studies
- Conduct case studies of select state and system policies to evaluate their impact on institutional innovation, student completion of developmental studies courses and matriculation into and completion of a postsecondary education
- Collect and analyze the various state approaches for reporting state and system data on participation in developmental studies
- Examine program evaluation approaches for developmental studies programs and their relationship to increasing state college attainment rates
- Organize a workshop at the ECS National Forum on Education Policy to disseminate project findings and engage ECS constituents in productive policy discussions that will inform the development of policy and funding models
- Provide technical assistance to states to assist in the alignment of developmental studies policy with state P-20 efforts and goals to increase college attainment.
Project Products
- A literature review highlighting innovative efforts to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of developmental studies programs, and the relationship between state policy and developmental studies programs
- A comprehensive 50-state database of policies and funding formulas for developmental studies
- A white paper synthesizing research and data on developmental studies to create a policy framework for states and higher education systems to maximize investments in developmental studies
- A series of policy briefs analyzing current state and system policies and approaches for increasing the success of developmental studies programs
- Toolkits for policymakers that include model policies and formulas for supporting successful developmental studies programs
- A final report documenting key project outcomes, findings and lessons learned.
