Developmental Education

The mission of the State System is to provide high-quality education at the lowest possible cost to students; to increase educational attainment in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; to prepare students at the undergraduate and graduate levels for professional and personal success in their lives; and to contribute to the economic, social, and cultural development of Pennsylvania's communities, the commonwealth, and the nation.

Developmental education, sometimes called remedial education, is meant to help students acquire and demonstrate foundational skills that will support their success in college-level courses in general education and major of choice at the university.

Rigorous research has shown, however, that developmental education has not consistently produced the intended outcomes; researchers have thus advocated for transformative, evidence-based change.

Why is developmental education so important? Developmental education should be a stepping stone, not a barrier, to educational opportunities for all students.  Unfortunately, traditional approaches to developmental education have had disproportionately negative impacts on students who are already not well served in higher education, namely underrepresented minorities, first-generation college students, and students from low-income families.  Pathways to success in foundational skills is important for all students if the State System is going to achieve its goals equitably and inclusively.

Why is a system approach to developmental education Important? State System universities can join together to devise evidence-based strategies and policies to support the success of students whose prior learning has not prepared them in some areas for college-level work or who are unsuccessful in an initial attempt at a gateway course offering.

How will the State System achieve better outcomes? Initial System Redesign efforts to test and scale innovative and effective practices led to a State System grant from Strong Start to Finish to study and pilot alternative approaches to developmental education.  The outcome of the project was a set of research-based and faculty-driven guidelines for designing and implementing corequisite models of developmental math instruction. This approach leads to demonstrable improvements independently but is most effective as part of an array of learner-centered approaches to achieving skills foundational to college success and completion.