Taking Developmental Education Reform to Scale: How Texas Institutions Responded to Statewide Corequisite Implementation

Abstract

In response to concerns about the additional costs and time-to-degree associated with traditional developmental education programs, several states and postsecondary systems have implemented corequisite reform where academically underprepared students take both a developmental education course and college-level course in the same subject area within a single semester. Texas is one of the first and most diverse states to require all public institutions to scale-up corequisite developmental education. In this study, we use longitudinal survey data from the population of public two-year and four-year colleges and universities in Texas to examine heterogeneity in institutional responses to implementation of a statewide corequisite developmental education reform throughout the 4-year scale-up timeline. We provide insight into how challenges, costs, and data-informed efforts differ for postsecondary institutions that were compliant versus non-compliant with the annual statewide targeted participation rates for corequisite enrollment. We conclude with implications for policy and practice to better support statewide corequisite developmental education reform.