This dissertation explores how the political economy particular to southern Dallas, Texas impacts a community-based college-readiness program for high school students in a Latino community. A community-based educational space (CBES) operated by a civil rights organization serving Latino youth who would be the first-generation to attend university,…

Drawing on qualitative data collected in a sample of colleges as part of a larger study on the implementation and impact of Assembly Bill 705 in California, this paper explores the rollout of corequisite reforms, focusing on the use of embedded tutors in introductory math and English courses as a strategy to meet to the needs of students. This…

Community Colleges have an open-door policy that publicly states all are welcome but after acceptance, the student encounters the hidden locked door of placement testing. For some students, placement testing is the key that unlocks the door and provides them access to their path toward their academic journey. But for most students, placement…

The California Community College (CCC) system serves a large student body, diverse in backgrounds, experiences, and educational goals. The accompanying report uses data from the CCC system's records to measure variation in achievement across the state's Strong Workforce Regions. The report considers a range of achievement measures, including…

In 2017, the California State Legislature and governor adopted new law that fundamentally disrupted the long-held practice of remedial (or developmental) education in the California Community Colleges (CCCs). The law, Assembly Bill 705, was preceded by earlier reforms that changed how colleges could place students into remedial education, or basic…

A continuing priority in education has focused on preparing students for postacademic success. The adoption of the Common Core State Standards Initiative prompted educational leaders to focus on preparing students to be "college and career ready." Definitions, perceptions, and efforts to improve college and career readiness vary widely.…

Despite the many benefits associated with obtaining a college degree, many of our nation's public-school students, particularly marginalized students, remain ill-equipped to pursue their desired post-secondary goals (Morgan et al., 2014). The researcher uses published literature to define and substantiate the systemic challenges that lower…

In Texas, adult English as a Second Language (ES(O)L) and developmental education classes both offer adult multilingual students remediation guided by distinct standards: Texas Workforce Commission (2016) and Texas College and Career Readiness Standards (2018). Within various colleges, the courses are overseen by different departments lacking…

The California Community College (CCC) system serves a large student body, diverse in backgrounds, experiences, and educational goals. This report uses data from the CCC system's records to measure variation in achievement across the state's Strong Workforce Regions. We consider a range of achievement measures, including initial enrollments,…

Background: Community colleges are the primary door to higher education for students of color and those from low-income backgrounds (Bailey et al., 2015; Calcagno et al., 2008). To raise attainment and reduce inequalities in completion, colleges have adopted many student success initiatives--from first-year experience programming and basic needs…

An incongruence exists between the growing job opportunities in rural areas and the educational opportunities provided to rural students, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Positive change is possible, however. As one means to tackle this complex issue, this study sought to understand the perceptions and…

Student retention has been a serious issue for many community colleges globally for several decades. In a community college in Jamaica, persistence rates have been steadily declining within the last several years. The purpose of this study was to investigate students' experiences with the pre-college program that was designed to prepare students…

Community colleges are frequently an affordable, accessible entrance to a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and career, but the transition from a 2-year program to a 4-year institution can be tumultuous. In this mixed-methods study, we explore the experiences of transfer and prospective transfer students. Through…

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted several states to adopt or scale new placement methods, since many test-based placement metrics were unavailable. In April 2020, the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) approved a pilot to add high school GPA as a placement method at Tennessee community colleges alongside other measures included in TBR's learning…

The Suburban Boulevard Community College (SBCC), a pseudonym, has been experiencing a low persistence rate among first-year full-time students. Further, a gap in practice exists where college administrators at the SBCC were not assessing first-year students' level of college readiness as a likely predictor of low persistence. The study was…