FOCUS Intervention co-requisite program with wrap-around academic support services

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description

The FOCUS Intervention is a comprehensive co-requisite program in which students placed into developmental mathematics bypass the traditional developmental sequence and enroll concurrently in a developmental mathematics course and the credit-bearing College Algebra course. The article states "Students enrolled in the FOCUS Intervention program were registered in a developmental mathematics course and credit-bearing mathematics course concurrently". Wrap-around services included weekly/monthly seminars, mentoring, and required tutoring; a faculty panel selected applicants based on criteria such as repeated developmental failure and first-generation status.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• Faculty selection of candidates from the applicant pool
• Mandatory pretest and posttest THEA assessment at the university testing center
• Required participation in academic support services

Constraints

• Admission was selective rather than open; placement was based on university-defined cut-scores often higher than state standards

Target Learners

• Underprepared college students placed into developmental mathematics, including first-generation students and veterans

Learning Goals

• Completion of credit-bearing College Algebra
• Reduced time to degree

Claims

• Focus Intervention Higher Grade Points Small Effect [+M]
• Focus Intervention Lower Course Withdrawal [+M]

Related Designs

• FOCUS curriculum design: backward design, just-in-time developmental sequencing, and deconstruct/reconstruct

Examples

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Key Sources

• Mireles, S. V., Acee, T. W., & Gerber, L. N. (2014). FOCUS: Sustainable Mathematics Successes. Journal of Developmental Education, 38(1). https://eric.ed.gov/?q=FOCUS+Intervention+College+Algebra+Mireles

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	design
id	focus-intervention-program-element
title	FOCUS Intervention co-requisite program with wrap-around academic support services
description	The FOCUS Intervention is a comprehensive co-requisite program in which students placed into developmental mathematics bypass the traditional developmental sequence and enroll concurrently in a developmental mathemati...
status	review
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-11-02
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — mireles-2014

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