The Impact of Learning Communities for Students in Developmental Education - A Synthesis of Findings From Randomized Trials at Six Community Colleges

Oct 15, 2026

Learning Communities for students in developmental education at community colleges are evaluated using results from one of the largest independent randomized trials in higher education history. The study synthesizes effects estimated across six U.S. community colleges, involving roughly 7,000 participants. Overall impacts are positive but modest, supporting learning communities as a strategy to improve student success in settings where completion rates remain low despite expanded access. The article also outlines learning community design elements and variations in practice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Learning communities and key elements

Rationale for developmental education support

Trial-based evidence and overall effects

Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis December 2015, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 520–541 DOI: 10.3102/0162373714563307 © 2015 AERA. [http://eepa.aera.net](http://eepa.aera.net) The Impact of Learning Communities for Students in Developmental Education: A Synthesis of Findings From Randomized Trials at Six Community Colleges Michael J. Weiss Mary G. Visher Evan Weissman MDRC Heather Wathington University of Virginia Community colleges play a vital role in postsecondary education, enrolling more than one in every three postsecondary students. While their importance has grown over the past 50 years, their students’success rates remain low. Consequently, community college stakeholders are searching with mounting urgency for approaches that increase students’success rates.“Learning communities” are one popular strategy. This article describes the results of one of the largest (n ≈ 7,000) independent randomized trials in higher education history—an evaluation of the effectiveness of learning communities for students in developmental education at six community colleges throughout the United States. The estimated overall average effects of learning communities are positive, although quite modest. Keywords: learning community, learning communities, community college, randomized trial, program evaluation Over the last five decades, community colleges have played an increasingly large role in American postsecondary education. In 1963, community colleges enrolled 740,000 students, representing 15% of all fall enrollment in postsecondary institutions (Provasnik & Planty, 2008) . By 2011, enrollment had increased by nearly 1,000%, to 7.1 million students, representing 34% of all fall enrollment (Snyder & Dillow, 2013) . This shift in the postsecondary landscape is due in part to the fact that community colleges are generally open-access institutions and are typically lower cost than 4-year colleges and universities. Tuition and fees at community colleges are around one third of their cost at public 4-year colleges and universities, and around one tenth of their cost at private 4-year colleges and universities (The College Board, 2012) . While community colleges have provided increased access to many students, particularly nontraditional, low-income, and minority students, the completion rates at these institutions leave much room for improvement. Among students beginning at public 2-year colleges, fewer than half earn a credential or transfer to a 4-year institution within 6 years after their initial enrollment (Radford, Berkner, Wheeless, & Shepherd, 2010) . One factor contributing to these low success rates is that many students arrive on campus academically unprepared for college-level Learning Communities for Students in Developmental Education coursework (Conley, 2010; Long & Boatman, 2013) . One estimate of the prevalence of the need for developmental courses suggests that among students whose first institution attended was a community college, more than 60% took a remedial course at a postsecondary institution (Adelman, 2004) . Unsurprisingly, degree or certificate attainment rates among students who need developmental education are even lower than that of the general population (Attewell, Lavin, Domina, & Levey, 2006) . Students in need of developmental education are not just failing to earn a credential—the majority never complete the developmental course sequence to which they are referred (Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010) . Prompted by these statistics, community college stakeholders are searching for approaches that increase students’ chances of earning a college credential—particularly for students referred to developmental education courses.“Learning communities” are one of the most popular strategies to help such students.1 Learning Communities Although definitions of learning communities vary, there is much agreement about their key elements. Learning communities involve the coenrollment of a co

FAQs

What problem does the article address regarding community colleges and student outcomes?

It highlights low success rates and particularly weak completion and credential attainment among students in developmental education, despite community colleges providing broad access.

How does the article define learning communities?

Learning communities generally involve coenrolling a cohort into two or more linked courses, encouraging instructor collaboration, and often incorporating active engagement and additional student supports.

What were the overall results of the randomized trials synthesis?

The synthesis reports positive overall average effects of learning communities, though the estimated effects are modest.

Oct 15, 2026

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