Tools for Improving Corequisite Models

In education, practitioners are increasingly looking for strategies to bring data and evidence into decisionmaking and to roll out programs in intentional ways that allow for ongoing improvement. This toolkit acts as a guide to improvement strategies for teams of practitioners at colleges, providing them with the knowledge and tools they need to carry out rapid cycles of data-driven improvement. Topics discussed include identifying a problem of practice and objectives for improvement, carrying out Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, and conducting rapid-cycle evaluation. The toolkit includes tools and tips for practitioners, with a supplement of seven worksheets that colleges can use for planning improvement efforts.

The toolkit applies improvement approaches to corequisite remediation, a common initiative being adopted by colleges. Corequisite remediation shifts the way that students are supported in college by allowing them to directly enter a college-level course and receive additional academic support during that same semester to address the challenges they face with basic math, reading, or writing concepts (rather than requiring students to complete a series of developmental education courses).

This toolkit was developed for improvement teams made up of administrators, department and faculty chairs, and other college staff who are helping to oversee important initiatives and programs, such as corequisite remediation, and who are looking to build an ongoing process for addressing challenges they face and improving the way that corequisite models are provided through data use and reflection.