About

Several states and systems of higher education across the nation are engaging in reforms that upend traditional approaches to developmental/remedial education. Although developmental education delivered through prerequisite math and English courses are designed to equip academically under-prepared students for college-level coursework, the structure and sequence of courses has largely not improved student outcomes and in many cases has negatively impacted student progress and attainment.

The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) observed these same patterns and announced the Corequisite and College-Ready Gateway Policy in 2019, fully implementing it in fall 2021. It requires NSHE institutions to shift from a prerequisite model of remediation, where students are required to take and pass lower-level courses before enrolling in college-level courses, to a corequisite model, where students enroll directly in college-level courses and are provided support through concurrent coursework. Students are assigned to corequisites based on college admission test scores (ACT or SAT), or other assessments.

Drawing on student-level records housed within the statewide longitudinal data system called Nevada P–20 to Workforce Research Data System (NPWR), we use regression discontinuity (RD) designs to examine the impact of corequisite enrollment on completion of college-level English and math, persistence and retention, degree attainment, and post-graduation employment and earnings. Another impact study examines changes in student outcomes over time using a difference-in-RD design, comparing student cohorts placed into prerequisite courses to those placed in corequisite courses.

Yet developmental education reforms have met significant resistance and skepticism. We therefore complement the impact study with a qualitative case study conducted in partnership with corequisite stakeholders at each of NSHE's seven teaching institutions. This study focuses on policy implementation, teaching practices, and student advising, and draw upon surveys and focus groups with campus constituents including students, faculty, advisors, and administrators. This partnership approach facilitates information-sharing across colleges within the system and offers a context for the project team to provide formative feedback to the colleges aimed at improving policy implementation from year to year.