Underprepared students desiring to enter teacher education programs struggle to achieve minimum state-required Praxis I exam scores. This problem affects teacher education programs, student success, and university enrollment and retention. With proper resources and support, these students may experience personal and academic success that may be transferred to their own students once they are certified teachers. At the participating mid-South university, the effectiveness of the existing remedial program was unknown. The study's purpose, rooted in the constructivist learning principles of Dewey and Bruner, was to address the effectiveness of the local university's existing remedial program in assisting the teacher education students in meeting state testing requirements. In this qualitative case study, existing deidentified student Praxis I scores (n = 41), archived remedial course information and departmental records, and deidentified course grades were analyzed descriptively and collectively to determine the effectiveness of the remedial program. All data were coded and analyzed for patterns to reveal problems or resources relative to student performance. Key findings indicated that although the remedial courses addressed many Praxis I concepts, a redesign of the content and instructional approach may benefit underprepared students. Recommendations included using the data-based white paper produced from this study as a guide to improve remedial courses. This study may affect social change by providing an innovative approach to improve remedial programs to affect student achievement outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between the attitudes of remedial and developmental directors and instructors and student ratings. A population of 230 full-time directors and instructors and 3,269 remedial students were surveyed in the Fall of 1990. The return rate was 95% for the directors and instructors with the student rate dependent upon instructors administering the instruments. Two instruments were developed--one to measure the attitudes of directors and instructors and one for student ratings of instructors. Seven null hypotheses were formulated; 5 were retained and 2 rejected, at the.05 level of significance. Factor analysis identified four student factors and six director and instructor factors. The Pearson r was used to test for relationships in hypotheses 1 through 4, with 24 possible correlations on each hypothesis. The t-test was used to test for differences in hypotheses 5 through 7. Even though findings revealed a low percentage of correlations, significant relationships were found on several factors. A relationship existed between student ratings and instructor willingness to provide extra assistance, and demonstrating a nurturing, caring concern for students. Students and instructors viewed a sense of 'belongingness' and being an integral part of the college environment as an important factor. Directors and instructors who held strong, egalitarian philosophies believed in open door policies. A difference did not exist between student ratings of faculty who taught remedial and developmental courses only and fully-integrated faculty. A significant difference was found in student ratings of instructors based on age. Differences were noted in the areas of instructor concern, course value, and classroom adaptations among students older than 24.