For low-income people, community colleges offer an important pathway out of poverty and into better jobs. But a host of factors, including inadequate financial aid or student services and poor developmental classes, can keep them from enrolling in and completing postsecondary education.  more

Top 10 Most Popular MDRC Publications in 2011 In 2011, MDRC published nearly 40 publications on programs affecting low-income Americans in all realms of education and social policy: education from preschool to postsecondary, workforce development, family relationships, youth development, welfare programs, early childhood, health and disability, and more. Can Summer Bridge Programs Narrow the “College Readiness Gap”? Charles Michalopoulos Named MDRC’s Chief Economist Gates Foundation Selects MDRC to Evaluate Completion by Design Jean Grossman Joins MDRC as Part-Time Senior Fellow

Learning Communities for Students in Developmental English Impact Studies at Merced College and The Community College of Baltimore County Two colleges implemented semester-long learning communities linking developmental English with a range of other courses. At Merced, learning communities students earned more developmental English credits and passed more English courses than a control group. At CCBC, there were no meaningful impacts on students’ credit attempts or progress. Neither college’s program had an impact on persistence or on cumulative credits earned. Serving Community College Students on Probation Four-Year Findings from Chaffey College’s Opening Doors Program Getting Ready for College An Implementation and Early Impacts Study of Eight Texas Developmental Summer Bridge Programs Performance-Based Scholarships Emerging Findings from a National Demonstration