Trends in Community College Assessment and Placement Approaches: Implications for Educational Policy

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative, instrumental case study that examined students' academic preparedness, as well as assessment and placement policy in 15 community colleges in 6 states across the country. Although most community colleges mandate basic skills assessment for all entering freshmen, many do not require low-scoring students to attend developmental education classes. Consequently, students who test into remediation may still enroll in college-level classes. This could threaten those students' performance in degree programs. The sample used in the study consisted of 5 urban, 5 suburban, 1 mixed urban and suburban, and 4 rural community colleges in which enrollment ranged from 1,854 to 28,862, with minority participation ranging from 5% to 96%. Research questions were tailored for four different community college roles: administrator, faculty, counselor, and student. A total of 314 interviews were conducted. The main source of data was a set of 201 interview transcripts (64% of total). The findings connect age, and particularly limited English proficiency, with college preparedness. Some respondents suggested that the comprehension levels required of the placement tests were too low for college-level study. The study asks why remediation is not universally required as a prerequisite for registration. (Contains 5 tables and 25 references.) (NB)