The newspaper article from the Albany Times Union details the efforts of the State Assembly's Committee on Higher Education. The committee has reviewed college readiness and completion data from SUNY institutions. The committee drew a link between underprepared students and its influence on the workforce and state's economic viability.

The paper shows how three community colleges used the Achieving the Dream model of institutional reform to implement best instructional approaches for developmental education courses. The paper also examines how other community colleges may use evidence of success at these institutions as an indication of the utility and scalability of the Achieving the Dream model.

The newspaper article from the Business Gazette (MD) details the efforts of Maryland communities colleges and Montgomery College, in particular, to redesign remediation by integrating basic math and English skills into vocational and specialized major courses. By including remedial curricula within major content areas, faculties hope to increase retention and completion rates for students who require college prep.

Presentation slides detail Developmental Summer Bridge programs (DSB) in Texas. The research describes college-connected interventions in high school settings and assesses the level of coordination for college readiness between high schools and local colleges. The slides also analyzes the strengths and challenges of 5 different programs across the state.

This forum held by the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) will spotlight community colleges that address the challenges of developmental education and produce best practices for supporting students' progress toward degree completion. The forum will be held Monday December 13th. Speakers Peter Adams and Elaine Baker have worked with ECS and Getting Past Go in the past.

This article details the main research and data findings on developmental education. The article touches on innovative approaches at three community colleges. Also, a discussion of program cost and student success situates developmental education in the right policy context.

In a press release, Connecticut Higher Education Commissioner Michael Meotti and State Education Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan discussed the work of the state's P-20 Council. The council works in three areas: building partnerships between school districts and higher education institutions, aligning data across all educational units, and strengthening the preparation and professional development of teachers and principals.

This report, commissioned by the Lumina Foundation, measures national and state-by-state progress on the "Big Goal," an initiative calling for 60% of Americans to hold a high-quality postsecondary credential by 2025. Individual state pages contain an attainment narrative and several data graphics, disaggregated by ethnicity, attainment level, and county, where available. The report uses National Higher Education Management Systems and American Community Survey data to show current attainment rates and the gap between present rates and the 60% goal.

The study follows a cohort model and tracks the course-taking patterns of first-time community college students over a seven-year period. The data suggest that aspirations, age, ethnicity, and institutional factors affect students' completion of a developmental course sequence. After presenting the descriptive data, the authors outline five policy implications for their research. Three are particularly relevant to policy discussions we have had at Getting Past Go: using common assessments and early interventions to reduce the need for developmental education; identifying delays in course-taking to develop better-aligned support; and, addressing the issue of students not completing remediation from the lowest course levels.

This brief makes a case for using cohort and momentum point data, disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, and institution, to improve program practices and community college system policies in California. Findings indicate that too few students reach transfer, retention, and completion milestones, and that a large percentage of students do not always follow enrollment patterns or degree checkpoints, as intended by policy. The brief outlines three recommendations: improving campus data collection practices, creating accountability structures through new funding models and assessment policies, and using data to align institutional and system-level efforts (Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy at California State University Sacramento, October 2010).