Copyright© 2007 by School Services of California, Inc.

                                      Volume 20                   For Publication Date: April 27, 2007             No. 10

Basic Skills in California Community Colleges 

To successfully participate in college-level courses, research has shown that many students need precollegiate math and/or English skill development. This reality has created a new mission for community colleges focused entirely on the need for basic skills. College readiness and preparation is vital to student success in any institution. In maintaining access and success, basic skills have taken a front seat in the education debate regarding college readiness.   

Understanding this need in 2004, the California Community Colleges System Office began a comprehensive strategic planning process for the purpose of improving student access and success. Within the Strategic Plan is the goal of student access and the component of basic skills.   

To ensure that basic skills development is a major focus and funded adequately, the California Community Colleges System Office commissioned a study to identify effective practices in basic skills programs. The report, Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges, was prepared by The Center for Student Success (CSS) and the Research and Planning (RP) Group for California Community Colleges.   

There are three (3) major components of the study: 

• An extensive review of the literature related to basic skills practices, as well as an overview of examples of strategies employed by 33 California community colleges and nine-out-of-state institutions

• A self-assessment tool which will allow colleges to reflect on how their current practices fit with the findings from the literature regarding what are known to be effective practices for basic skills students

• A cost/revenue model for developmental education programs which provides a way to explore the incremental revenues that can be derived over time from such programs

According to the report, the research on basic skills education clearly establishes a series of effective practices that has been demonstrated to produce improvements in student outcomes. The improvement of basic skills education must be an institutional priority and is an institutional responsibility. 

While, there may be controversy regarding the name attached to “basic skills” programs and services in an effort to maintain student self-concepts, some institutions are renaming these programs as “foundational skills.” The study concludes that continued research and documentation of effective practices in basic skills education are essential to facilitating improvements in practice.   

An electronic copy of the publication can be obtained at:  http://css.rpgroup.org.

—Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.