Eric.ed.gov – High School-to-College Transition Courses: A Typology of Design Choices

Increasing numbers of high schools are offering senior-year transition curricula in math and English to better prepare graduating students for college. These transition curricula are typically full-year, high school credit-bearing courses taken by students at risk of being placed into developmental (also known as remedial) courses upon enrollment in college. In many cases, students who successfully complete a transition course are officially designated as “college ready” and therefore bypass developmental education altogether. Educators who are interested in developing transition courses currently have limited information about how others have done so. Based on the experiences of those who have developed or overseen transition courses, this brief provides a typology of transition course design options for those thinking about how to best plan and implement these offerings. Among other topics discussed, the brief considers alternative course goals, curricular and instructional approaches, which kinds of students are targeted for course enrollment, mechanisms for determining college readiness, and teacher supports. The information shared here is based on research carried out in the 2017-18 academic year by the Community College Research Center. CCRC researchers conducted interviews with key stakeholders–generally high school and college personnel who have helped to develop transition courses or others who are knowledgeable about them–from 12 randomly selected states, chosen from among states previously identified as having implemented transition curricula statewide or in local settings (see Fay, Barnett, & Chavarín, 2017). The authors also sought out resources available online and used relevant literature to create this typology.