Skip to content
  • Research
  • About Us
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery

Focus Areas

  • Dual Enrollment
  • Developmental Education
  • Guided Pathways
  • Advising & Student Supports
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Transfer
  • College to Career
Menu
  • Dual Enrollment
  • Developmental Education
  • Guided Pathways
  • Advising & Student Supports
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Transfer
  • College to Career

Publications Library

CCRC’s complete collection of publications

Presentations

Webinars and conference presentations with CCRC researchers

Guided Pathways Workshops

Materials from our do-it-yourself workshop series

Policy Resources

Our collection of federal policy briefs and fact sheets

  • CCRC Staff
  • Research Affiliates
  • Advisory Board
  • Employment
  • Biennial Report
  • Our History
  • Contact
Menu
  • CCRC Staff
  • Research Affiliates
  • Advisory Board
  • Employment
  • Biennial Report
  • Our History
  • Contact
  • CCRC in the News
  • Opinion
  • Press Releases
Menu
  • CCRC in the News
  • Opinion
  • Press Releases
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs
  • Overview
  • Important Dates
  • FAQs

Developmental Education Reform as a Civil Rights Agenda: Recent History & Future Directions for California

By Susan Bickerstaff & Tatiana Melguizo

Efforts to strengthen the pipeline to college degree completion have focused on improving college access and providing academic, social, and financial supports to students post-enrollment. This paper from UCLA’s Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles examines one facet of postsecondary education that has served as a barrier to both college access and success: developmental education. Though intended as a remedy to unequal pre-college academic experiences, developmental education has proven instead to exacerbate racial inequities in academic progress in higher education and has effectively decreased college access for low-income students and students of color. The authors describe the research that prompted developmental education reform approaches nationally and in California, explore the efforts in California that led to the passing of Assembly Bill 705, summarize research on its implementation and outcomes, and discuss the implications of this research for improving postsecondary access and success for Black and Hispanic students and English learners. Building on analysis of the research, the paper concludes with five key practice and policy recommendations for California community college leaders as they move toward realizing a civil rights agenda for college access and success in the next 25 years:

  1. Address faculty and practitioners’ beliefs.
  2. Move from structural to instructional reform.
  3. Improve data accessibility, reporting, and accountability.
  4. Expand equitable college access opportunities for students in high school.
  5. Address barriers facing English learners.

View paper
March 2024

Additional Resources

For more policy briefs and fact sheets, visit CCRC’s Policy Resources page.

  • Our Research
  • About Us
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery
  • Our Research
  • About Us
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery

Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University
Box 174 | 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027

  • 212.678.3091
  • ccrc@columbia.edu

© 2025. All rights reserved.

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin Youtube Instagram
Join our mailing list
  • Our Research
    • Focus Areas
    • Publications Library
    • Presentations
    • Guided Pathways Workshops
    • Policy Resources
  • About Us
    • CCRC Staff
    • Research Affiliates
    • Advisory Board
    • Employment
    • Biennial Report
    • Our History
    • Contact
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery
  • Our Research
    • Focus Areas
    • Publications Library
    • Presentations
    • Guided Pathways Workshops
    • Policy Resources
  • About Us
    • CCRC Staff
    • Research Affiliates
    • Advisory Board
    • Employment
    • Biennial Report
    • Our History
    • Contact
  • News
  • Community College FAQs
  • Blog
  • Pandemic Recovery