To obtain a quantitative meta-analysis of studies addressing the effects of community college Developmental Studies Programs (DSPs) on students enrolled in higher education, an analysis was undertaken of a sample of studies culled from journal articles, dissertations, unpublished works found in ERIC, and published and unpublished proceedings of conferences. Results were measured by "effect size," a quantitative way of describing how well the average student who received intervention performed relative to the average student who did not receive the intervention. An effect size of zero, for example, indicated that a participating student did no better or worse than a non-participating student, while a positive effect size indicate that participants performed better than an average student. Results of the study included the following: (1) effect size estimates for developmental studies English composition ranged from -2.25 to 2.33; (2) effect sizes for developmental math ranged from .47 to 2.3; (3) persistence rates for reading ranged from -.32 to .13; (4) the one study of persistence rates for study skills courses that was reviewed had an effect size of -.22; (5) the majority of studies (66%) reported positive effects, indicating that DSPs improved retention rates; (6) programs with strong learning theoretical bases work better than programs that are watered-down versions of regular college classes; and (7) evidence indicates that well thought-out, self-paced, and competency-based programs keep students from dropping out. Contains 19 references. (MAB)