Giving Compass' Take:

· This report from MDRC takes a look at the findings from a study on the assessment practices used to place students in remedial and college-level courses.  

· What does this report show? What assessments are used to place students in these courses? 

· Check out this article about expanding access to dual enrollment courses. 

Colleges throughout the United States are evaluating the effectiveness of the strategies used to decide whether to place students into college-level or developmental education courses. Developmental, or remedial, courses are designed to develop the reading, writing, or math skills of students deemed underprepared for college-level courses, a determination usually made through standardized placement tests. However, increasing numbers of colleges are using multiple measures to place students, including additional types of placement tests, high school transcripts, and evaluations of student motivation.

There is no single, correct way to design and implement multiple measures assessments (MMA) to improve course placements. Colleges must decide what measures to include, and how to combine them. The current study was developed to add to our understanding about the implementation, cost, and efficacy of an MMA system using locally determined rules. As part of a randomized controlled trial, the study team evaluated MMA programs and interviewed and observed staff at five colleges in Minnesota and Wisconsin; it also wrote a short case study about one Wisconsin college.

Read the full article about expanding access to college-level courses by Dan Cullinan, Elisabeth A. Barnett, Elizabeth Kopko, Andrea Lopez, and Tiffany Morton at MDRC.