Developmental education reformers and researchers alike have struggled to fully understand and address disparities in academic outcomes by student characteristics that persist despite significant improvements in overall short-term outcomes. The research literature sheds light on the causes of disparities and potential solutions that can be applied to developmental education reform.
To build on this knowledge and the work of practitioners, CCRC brought together practitioners from four community colleges, each with distinct approaches to address outcomes disparities, to work with one another and with researchers in a year-long community of practice (CoP) to strengthen implementation of their approaches and share what they are learning from that process with one another. This applied research project was created by CCRC and funded by the Gates Foundation to “incubate” strategies and practices that reduce disparities in academic outcomes by student characteristics in colleges implementing proven developmental education reforms, such as corequisite remediation, math pathways, and multiple measures assessment.