2014 Reports

What We Know About Developmental Education Outcomes

Jaggars, Shanna; Stacey, Georgia West

Many recent high school graduates who enter community college are required to take remedial or
developmental education courses before enrolling in college-level courses. Developmental courses
essentially reteach high school– and junior high school–level content in reading, writing, and math. In some cases, students are referred to two or even three courses of developmental education in a single subject area. The annual cost of providing remediation to community college students nationwide has been estimated at approximately $7 billion.