One Policy,Disparate Reactions: Institutional Responses in Florida’s Developmental Education Reform

This paper seeks to better understand how community colleges in Florida planned to implement a new sweeping state policy pertaining to developmental education. Via a cluster analysis, we identify three distinct patterns in the ways in which the colleges responded to the policy: reformers, responders, and resisters. Further, we find that these patterns are related to the extent to which individual colleges had previously enacted campus-based developmental education reform measures, the magnitude of students previously enrolled in developmental education, and the colleges’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the policy.     

Reading,Writing, and English Course Pathways when Developmental Education is Optional: Course Enrollment and Success for Underprepared First-time-in-College Students

Academic underpreparedness is an issue for many first-time-in-college students, particularly those entering community colleges. Whereas many underprepared students enroll in developmental education, research has indicated that traditional remediation may not increase students’ chances for success. Therefore, states and colleges have begun to implement new course placement strategies to increase the accuracy of initial course placement and new instructional approaches to better serve their developmental students. Specifically, in 2013, the state of Florida passed Senate Bill 1720 which redesigned developmental coursework and placement policies across the Florida College System. The reform lifted developmental education placement exam testing and course enrollment requirements for certain exempt students, irrespective of prior academic preparation or achievement. The current study focuses on these exempt students—those who had the option to bypass developmental education—who were also underprepared, and their initial course selection and subsequent success in their gateway (introductory college-level) English course. Using statewide student-level data and logistic regression techniques, the results indicated that level of preparation was related to students’ course enrollment and gateway English course success. Students slightly underprepared in reading or writing were more likely than severely underprepared students to enroll in the gateway English class, relative to a developmental reading or writing course. In reading and writing, slightly underprepared students were more likely to pass English, relative to severely underprepared students. The authors consider the findings in light of recent national changes to developmental education and offer recommendations for policy and practice.     

Willingness to Pay and Preference for Private Institutions

This study focuses on the correlates of student preference for private institutions over public institutions in their senior year in high school, with a particular focus on the effects of students' subjective responses to tuition costs and to financial aid availability. The data for this study were drawn from a longitudinal study of postsecondary educational choice of high school students in the state of Indiana. The results indicate that in addition to student and family background and student academic characteristics, students' subjective responses to tuition costs and to financial aid availability have a substantial linkage with student preference for private or public institutions. This study suggests that family and ascribed characteristics alone do not explain student preference for the type of postsecondary institution. Students' subjective responses to tuition costs and to financial aid availability are also directly related to student preference for a certain type of postsecondary institution, independent of student family background and academic characteristics. This suggests that the willingness to pay, not only the ability to pay, plays a direct role in student college choice decisions. The implications for policy making are discussed.     

Scaffolding Mathematics Remediation for Academically At-Risk Students Following Developmental Education Reform in Florida

The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how educational scaffolding may explain changing patterns of student success in mathematics in the era of developmental education (DE or remediation) reform in Florida College System (FCS) institutions. Specifically, we apply the concept of scaffolding to underprepared FCS students who are at risk of dropping out or failing gateway courses (the first credit-bearing college-level class in a course sequence) because they lack the academic skills necessary to succeed in college-level coursework, particularly in mathematics. We present data from focus groups conducted at 10 FCS institutions, suggesting that a reduction of scaffolding in math remediation occurred in the areas of course sequencing, instruction, and coordination with academic support services following state-level policy changes. In light of these findings, we offer a discussion of practical recommendations for college administrators related to academic advising, instructional strategies in DE courses, coordination between developmental and college-level instructors, student success courses, and the integration of DE instruction with academic support. We also suggest directions for continued research on the effects of policy changes in the FCS and DE reform efforts across the country.     

An Engagement-Based Student Typology and Its Relationship to College Outcomes

Using data from the 2006 cohort of the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, we developed a student typology based on student responses to survey items on the National Survey of Student Engagement. We then examined the utility of this typology in understanding direct-assessment learning outcomes, self-reported gains, grade-point average, and persistence from the first to second year of college. Results from linear and logistic regression models indicated there were relationships between student types and the various outcomes, and that an engagement-based student typology could help deepen our understanding of the college student experience and college outcomes.     

鸟粪石结晶法回收氮磷的影响因素研究

沼液等废水中存在的有机物、Ca2+和吸附鸟粪石结晶所用的不锈钢网等会影响鸟粪石结晶法回收氮磷效率。为深入了解该回收工艺的影响因素,以模拟沼液为处理对象,采用曝气法提升p H值,考察腐植酸、Ca2+和不锈钢网等对鸟粪石结晶反应的影响。结果表明,腐植酸会影响鸟粪石结晶诱导时间,但会随着Mg/N/P的摩尔比的变化而改变;Ca2+的存在会对鸟粪石结晶产物的纯度产生干扰,当Ca2+增加到一定浓度时,会生成无定型磷酸钙;不锈钢网能促进鸟粪石结晶反应进行,但溶液体系中存在腐植酸时,鸟粪石晶体的吸附能力会明显减弱。     

Examining the Relationship between Student Learning and Persistence

Using data from the 2006 cohort of the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, we examined the relationships between three approaches to measuring student learning outcomes (direct-assessment learning gains, self-reported gains, and college grades) and student persistence from the first to second year. Results from a series of logistic regressions indicated that students’ grade-point averages had the largest explanatory power in student persistence, followed by self-reported gains. Direct-assessment learning gains had the least power in explaining persistence. The findings have implications for the national conversation on student success in college.     

高校课程设计类课程成绩评定方式初探

课程设计是高校工科专业必要的教学环节。为改进运动控制系统课程设计的成绩评定方法,该研究将班级学生分成若干小组,将过程考核和内容答辩相结合,将教师考核和学生互评相结合,综合评定每个学生的小组整体成绩,以贡献率等差异化权值计算学生个人成绩,最后加上个人的实验平时表现成绩,即可得到学生的最后等效成绩。该成绩评定方法将课程考核和课程设计整个过程紧密结合,评分标准统一,评定模块固定,操作过程规范,有借鉴和推广价值。