Many students graduate from high school academically unprepared for college. When such students enroll in college as first-time freshmen, they are commonly placed in non-credit-bearing developmental English and math courses to develop the skills necessary to complete freshman-level credit-bearing courses. Understanding students' college readiness and the outcomes for students placed in developmental courses is a high priority for policymakers, administrators, and educators in the Northern Mariana Islands. This study uses data on full-time first-time freshmen students who entered Northern Mariana College from the fall semester of 2008 through the fall semester of 2010 seeking an associate degree. Students who enrolled in at least one English or math course were tracked from their first semester at the college for eight semesters to follow their progress and learn their academic outcomes. This study considered students as college ready if they were placed in a credit-bearing course in English or math in the first course they took in that subject (a common indicator of readiness; see Conley, 2007). The study compares the academic outcomes of students initially placed in developmental English or math courses with students initially placed in credit-bearing courses in those subjects. In particular, the study examines how many students were in each group and compares the groups' background characteristics and academic outcomes. Findings from this study indicate that most students entering Northern Mariana College in 2008-10 were initially placed in non-credit-bearing developmental courses. More specifically: (1) In English, 80 percent of full-time first-time freshmen students seeking associate degrees were placed in developmental courses. In math, 91 percent were placed in developmental courses; (2) In English, female students, Pacific Islander and White students, students whose primary language spoken at home was English, students with less economic need (those who did not receive a Pell Grant), and students from the Northern Mariana Islands were more likely to be placed in credit-bearing courses; and (3) In math, male students, Asian students, students whose primary language spoken at home was not local to the Northern Mariana Islands, students with less economic need, and international students were more likely to be placed in credit-bearing courses. In addition, students initially placed in developmental English or math courses consistently had worse academic outcomes during their enrollment at Northern Mariana College than did students in credit-bearing English or math courses: (1) Continued enrollment: By the third semester, 47 percent of students initially placed in developmental courses in English were still enrolled compared with 62 percent of students in credit-bearing English courses; 56 percent of students initially placed in developmental courses in math were still enrolled compared with 75 percent of students in credit-bearing math courses; (2) Advancing from developmental to credit-bearing courses: Within eight semesters, 39 percent of students initially placed in developmental courses in English and 30 percent of students initially placed in developmental courses in math had advanced to credit-bearing courses in each subject; and (3) Graduation: Within eight semesters, 9 percent of students initially placed in developmental courses in English graduated compared with 32 percent of students in credit-bearing English courses; about 14 percent of students initially placed in developmental courses in math graduated in that time compared with 46 percent of students in credit-bearing math courses. The following are appended: (1) Data and methodology; and (2) Information about the samples. [This document was produced in collaboration with the Northern Mariana Islands College and Career Readiness Research Alliance.]
