Getting to Graduation: The Completion Agenda in Higher Education

7. Remediation: The Challenges of Helping Underprepared Students

chapter seven Remediation The Challenges of Helping Underprepared Students bridget terry long Although nearly three-quarters of high school graduates eventually go on to higher education, many are not prepared for the college curriculum. Research suggests that only 32 percent of all students leave high school ready to study college-level material, and the proportion academically prepared for higher education is even smaller among black and Hispanic students (20% and 16%, respectively).1 Given that academic preparation is an important predictor of success in college, these students are often placed into remedial or developmental courses.2 The classes are designed to address academic deficiencies and prepare students for subsequent college success. Estimates suggest that one-third or more of first-year students are required to take remedial courses in reading, writing, or mathematics.3 While remediation plays an increasingly important role in higher education , surprisingly little is understood about the effects of remediation on student outcomes and how to make the courses effective. There are also growing debates about how to best offer and regulate the courses. Perhaps due to a lack of best practices, states vary widely in where they offer and how they handle remedial and developmental programs. As many states and institutions look for cost-effective ways to deal with the increasing numbers of underprepared students who enter higher education each year, many are considering ways to limit remediation, shift its location, or pass on its costs to students or high school districts. For example, at least eight states, including Florida and Illinois, restrict remediation to two-year institutions; and several other states are currently considering such policies. States such as Texas, Tennessee, and Utah have imposed or are considering limits on the government funding of remedial coursework.4 States are also implementing various policies in the effort to help students avoid college remediation. 175 176 the relationship between policy and completion This chapter examines how reforming remediation might facilitate the national goal to increase degree attainment. We will look at the basic facts about remediation—the students who need it, how it is organized, and how much it costs—as well as the major debates surrounding remediation . I review the research on what is known about the effects of remediation on student outcomes and then consider how to make remediation work, given current research on reforming and improving remediation programs. Basic Facts about Remediation The Students During the twentieth century, the increased demand for higher education by students from all backgrounds accelerated the need for remediation in higher education. According to a 1996 study by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 81 percent of public four-year colleges and all two-year colleges were offering remediation by 1995. The increasing numbers of students entering colleges unprepared for collegelevel material is reflected in the growing numbers required to take remedial courses. In that study, 39 percent of colleges surveyed reported that remedial enrollments had increased during the previous five years. Other colleges chose to expel rather than educate students with severe academic deficiencies. For instance, during the fall of 2001, the California State University system “kicked out more than 2,200 students—nearly 7 percent of the freshman class—for failing to master basic English and math skills.”5 The students in remedial education come from two major groups. One group is composed of underprepared recent high school graduates, many of whom exit secondary school without grade-level competency or the proper preparation for college-level material. The need for remediation in college is closely tied to a student’s high school curriculum. A 2002 study by the Ohio Board of Regents found that students who had completed an academic core curriculum in high school were half as likely to need remediation in college as students lacking this core training.6 Similarly, studies by Cliff Adelman emphasize the importance of academic preparation in high school for success in college.7 However, completion of a high school core curriculum does not ensure that a student will avoid remediation in college. Many students who complete upper-level math courses in high school still require math re- Remediation 177 mediation courses or need to repeat subjects in college.8 The need for students who are supposedly academically prepared to take remediation suggests that the problem is larger than just poor high school course selection or the lack of a college-prep curriculum at some...