Does Developmental Education Reform Impact on Student Course Success Diverge Across Colleges in Florida?

• In Event: Policy Implementation Considerations in Higher Education

Abstract

After developmental education (DE) reform took place among the 28 Florida College System (FCS) institutions in 2014, different colleges adopted the policy with various resources, perspectives, and reactions. This study seeks to examine institutional characteristics associated with the DE reform and influence students' course success probabilities. Results showed that colleges in rural areas, with more White students and more free/reduced lunch-eligible students, performed the policy worse regarding English composition 1. Students who went to these colleges were less likely to pass English composition 1 at the end of the first year. Although results showed students going to different colleges had different passing probability for college-level math in the pre- and post-policy period, institutional characteristics did not effectively capture inter-institutional differences.

Authors

• Xinye Hu, Florida State University

• Shouping Hu, Florida State University