“A Foundation for Something Bigger” Community College Students’ Experience of Remediation in the Context of a Learning Community

A lot of people are gonna be mad at me for this, but I feel like everyone should start with remedial English . . .-Rochelle, community college studentRochelle, Mahira, and Carlos were all a few years out of high school when failing scores on university-mandated reading and writing assessment exams landed them in remedial English at a local community college.1 Rochelle sailed through her developmental courses, graduated in 2 years with a 3.3 GPA (grade point average), and transferred directly to a 4-year college. Mahira spent three semesters in developmental English and struggled to pass the university's writing assessment exam. Though she has not graduated from community college, her journey through remedial English has been a productive one: Mahira completed college composition I with an Aand was able to find work as an English teacher on returning for an extended visit to her native Turkmenistan. Carlos spent five semesters in developmental English courses, repeating the first two levels, before passing the reading and writing assessment exams. Though he failed his first attempt at college-level composition, Carlos successfully completed the required developmental English sequence and accumulated 23 credits toward a degree before leaving the college in his second year.Though their trajectories in and through college remediation2 varied, Rochelle, Mahira, and Carlos all began their college careers in a first-semester learning community (LC) that linked the lowest level of developmental English with Introduction to Psychology and a student success course.3 They are 3 of 15 students who participated in a qualitative, longitudinal study of developmental English students' experience of remediation in the context of a first-semester LC conducted at an urban community college in the Northeast. This study focuses on developmental students' experiences, voices, and perspectives. Findings shed light on students' changing perceptions of their placement in remedial English, their insights into LC participation, and the potential of LCs to enhance students' experience of remediation.BackgroundRemediation and College OutcomesA plethora of recent studies and policy initiatives question the efficacy of college remediation (Bailey, 2009; Calcagno & Long, 2008; Martorell M Mangan, 2012, 2013). However, the research evidence supporting this claim and concomitant policy proposals is inconsistent at best (Goudas & Boylan, 2012).The most frequently cited studies used to bolster arguments and educational policies against remediation examine its impact on students just above and below the cutoff scores for placement into developmental education4 (Calcagno & Long, 2008; Martorell & McFarlin, 2011). These findings suggest that remediation has limited benefits and at times even a negative effect on student outcomes (Boatman & Long, 2010; Calcagno & Long, 2008; Martorell & McFarlin, 2011). Martorell and McFarlin (2011 ) found little or no impact of remediation on most educational outcomes, including years of college completed, academic credits attempted, and degree completion. Calcagno and Long (2008) concluded that while remediation might improve early persistence, it does not promote long-term progress toward earning a degree. Boatman and Long's (2010) study of remedial education in Tennessee led them to the conclusion that of students on the margin of needing remediation, those who were assigned to remedial courses had lower college completion rates and fewer credits accumulated than similar students who went directly into college-level courses. …