According to the report, "Remediation: Higher Education's Bridge to Nowhere," fifty-one percent of all applicants to community colleges are required to take remedial courses so they are prepared for college-level work.
Non-traditional students who are older and may be out of school for more than 20 years often find that they too must enroll in remedial courses after scoring in the lower percentile of the ACCUPLACER exam.
This is a problem faced by many community colleges. The nationwide cost of this remedial instruction is estimated at $4 billion a year.
Students must use the money they receive from Pell Grants or other sources of financial aid to pay for remedial courses. The courses don't count toward a degree. What almost inevitably happens is that these students become discouraged and drop out of school.
We need to solve this problem, and one way is to design courses that have a remedial component, but with credit hours. With these courses, students receive regular instruction three days a week and for the other two they receive embedded tutoring. Thus, here is no need for a student to languish in the limbo of remedial education.
Another program involves working with local high schools and having them administer the ACCUPLACER exam to juniors to address academic deficiencies before college. In addition, high schools should encourage all students to take four years of math, as pursuing a degree in STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) is where the Labor Department projects there will be the best career opportunities. STEM jobs will all require a mastery of math.
Another issue facing high school students is consider which math courses to take in preparation for college. Most are placed in high school algebra pathways when statistics or quantitative math would be most appropriate to prepare them for their chosen programs of study and careers.
Wherever possible, high school students should enroll in dual-credit programs with their local community college so they become familiar with college-level courses and are able to bypass remedial courses.
Non-traditional students, in particular, should be given an opportunity to study for the exam. There are free online resources like the Khan Academy, MyMathLab and MyMath Test that allow students to practice math problems in a variety of math subjects and areas.
All students should be encouraged to enter specific programs of study when they first enroll, rather than waiting to take courses for their majors. Research shows that students are twice as likely to graduate if they complete at least three courses in their chosen programs of study in their first year on campus. This keeps students from taking unnecessary coursework that lengthens the time it takes for them to graduate.
(It should be noted that 30 percent of students who complete their remedial courses don't even attempt their gateway courses within two years. They become discouraged with higher education.)
African American, Hispanic and a lower-income student should be particularly wary of being headed toward the remediation dead-end. The very students we want to help most can find themselves trapped in remedial courses.
I believe that mentoring programs are invaluable to helping prospective community college students navigate the admissions process so they have a clear idea of what they need to succeed. Many community college students are the first in their family to attend college. Signing up for classes can be daunting. Mentors can illuminate for them a clear path to success.
With many states looking at the possibility of free community college, the debate about who is prepared for college coursework will intensify. We need to start with local high schools to make sure that all students are on the college track, not just high achievers. High school students also need to know that they don't have to get an associate degree, but many times can earn a certificate that will lead to a well-paying job in careers such as court reporting or medical coding.
There should be no barriers to success in higher education, but sometimes the things we do to help people don't work out as planned. Mentoring and good high school guidance can help clear the way.