Lessons from Two Experimental Studies of Multiple Measures Assessment. Research Brief

Research suggests that using only standardized placement test scores to determine which new college students should take developmental coursework is inadequate, as many students may be unnecessarily assigned to developmental courses. These courses generally take one or more semesters to complete, delaying entry into college-level coursework, and students earn no credit toward a credential for completing them. MDRC and the Community College Research Center recently completed two experimental studies of multiple measures assessment (MMA), in which colleges use high school GPA and other measures in addition to placement test scores to assign incoming students to either developmental or college-level courses in math and English. Overall, results from both studies indicate that student outcomes improve under MMA as compared to status quo placement based on test scores alone. In this brief, we explain what we have learned from these studies.