Research has found that the traditional model of developmental education (also known as remedial courses) at colleges and universities is not optimal for student success: Many students in developmental courses were dropping out before ever taking college-level courses. In response, colleges across the United States are scaling new approaches, such as corequisite remediation, to support students entering college. Corequisite remediation requires that students be placed directly into a college-level, credit-bearing course while receiving additional, aligned academic support during the semester. Early studies show that corequisite remediation is more effective than standalone developmental education courses prior to college coursework: Students in corequisites are much more likely to successfully complete college-level math and English courses within the first year of college.

A College Completion Network research team from RAND Corporation and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) compared the experiences of Texas community college students in English corequisite remediation courses with the experiences of students in standalone developmental reading and writing courses. This research brief summarizes research findings and highlights the implications that higher education policymakers, college administrators, and teachers should consider as they continue to design approaches to corequisite remediation.