Overview

Traditionally, community colleges used standardized tests to determine which incoming students needed to be referred to developmental (remedial) education. More recently, hundreds of colleges across the country have begun implementing a strategy called multiple measures assessment (MMA), a placement approach that uses alternative indicators including high school grade point average instead of or in addition to a single test score to improve placement accuracy. At the same time, colleges are increasingly offering corequisite remediation, where students enroll directly in college-level courses while concurrently receiving related developmental education support. This support often comes in the form of a separate course section, sometimes with a different instructor. Offering corequisite remediation and using MMA have been shown to get more students into college-level courses quickly and to help more students pass those courses.

MDRC is testing how colleges can best use MMA for placement when they adopt corequisite course models. In the first phase of the project, MDRC provided technical assistance to eight colleges across the United States as they developed and pilot tested new placement systems using multiple measures. The new placement systems, created in collaboration with college administrators and faculty members, were developed in spring 2024. The second phase of the project, which began in fall 2024, will evaluate the impacts of the placement systems, including effects on students’ overall persistence/retention, and on their completion of college-credit-bearing courses. Study results will inform the design of future corequisite placement criteria.

The Multiple Measures Assessment Project is funded by Ascendium Education Group.