Does Developmental Education Improve Labor Market Outcomes? Evidence From Two States

Many community college students start college in developmental education and leave before enrolling in college-level coursework or making much progress toward a degree; thus, developmental education courses represent the primary education these students receive. Using student-unit record data from two large community college systems linked to wage record data, this is the first study to estimate the labor market returns to developmental education. For two cohorts of students who attended community college in North Carolina and Virginia, we find that earning developmental English credits led to an increase in earnings due to an increased likelihood of employment. In contrast, in both states, developmental math credits had negative impacts on earnings, particularly for those assigned to the lowest level of the developmental math sequence.