Community colleges are often criticized for the low numbers of students who ostensibly appear successful. This article takes a unique look a the pathways many community college students take and redefines success as transition. Using the full population of the Los Angeles Community College District, this article examines the intra-institutional transitions of 1) remedial to college level, 2) English as a second language to traditional college courses, and 3) lower to higher academic goals. Analyses revealed that: 1) those students at the lowest levels of developmental English and Math were much less likely to transition than those who began their studies closer to college level: 2) most successful transitions from ESL occurred within the first year, but many students required a much longer time span; and 3) while some students changed their educational goals, most (about 90%) retained their original plans.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/linda_hagedorn/31/