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A large number of California’s community college students face roadblocks in their education and drop out because they are required to take remedial — or what college officials call developmental — courses in math or English that many never pass, according to a new report by the Public Policy Institute of California.
The highly critical study notes that 80 percent of students entering community colleges enroll in at least one developmental course based on their testing results or other criteria. It found many students get stuck in those classes and never make much progress toward diplomas. The report also said 44 percent of students complete their sequence of math remedial courses within six years, while 60 percent do so in English.
Developmental courses are supposed to prepare students for college-level work and do not carry credits counting toward degrees or certificates. But the more such courses that students are required to take, the more likely they are to drop out before they get to credit-bearing classes, said PPIC, a non-partisan research group that studies a wide range of state issues including energy, the economy, prisons and education. Just 16 percent of students placed in developmental education earn a certificate or associate degree in six years, the study found.
In the way it is designed and implemented at most California community colleges, developmental education “is lengthy, attrition is high and outcomes are poor,” stated the report titled “Preparing Students for Success in California’s Community Colleges.” “That system wastes students’ tuition money and time as well as state dollars and campus resources,” it said.
Developmental education at community colleges “is lengthy, attrition is high and outcomes are poor,” said the PPIC report.
While noting that the state and colleges have taken “promising” steps to reform the system, it said not enough has been done and not enough students have benefited from changes already made. The report called for improving the accuracy of student placement in remedial sequences, strengthening the courses and shortening the time it takes students to complete the courses. Such steps would help “eliminate key barriers preventing many community college students from achieving their academic goals,” the report said.
Students usually are placed in developmental classes based on testing results — and sometimes high school grades — and they can be required to take as many as four courses in both math and English if their scores are especially low. On average, those students are assigned to take two-and-a-half semesters of remedial math and two of English.
The report showed grim outcomes that disproportionately affect some minorities. About 87 percent of Latinos and African Americans are placed into at least one developmental math or English class, compared with 74 percent of whites and 70 percent of Asians.
But not all the findings were gloomy. The state Legislature has provided funding for extra tutoring and college-readiness classes. And many colleges are starting to make such changes as compressing two semesters of work into one and allowing students to enroll in credit-bearing courses that require them to do extra work, such as supplemental tutoring or an online study group. Some schools are reducing the number of students sent into developmental classes by adding high school grades to the review and placement process, not just relying on entrance tests. The report urged widening of such efforts at the state’s 113 community colleges, which enroll a total of 2.1 million students.
Paul Feist, vice chancellor for communications for the California Community Colleges, said in a statement that the system “recognizes that success rates in remedial courses are not acceptable and that these outcomes disproportionately impact first-generation students and students of color. That is why the California community college system is more focused than ever on bringing successful practices to scale to improve outcomes for our students.”
He also said colleges are changing placement practices to allow more students to start out in college-level courses “because research shows that large numbers of students can succeed there.” The statewide chancellor’s office has awarded grants to colleges for such things as summer bridge programs and adding tutoring to basic skills classes. “Transforming this area of education is critical for the success of our students and our state,” Feist said.
The study said it used data across the state from the California Community Colleges system and focused on students who started in 2009-10.
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This is a continuing EdSource series on proven innovations in higher education that relate to the problems facing California’s higher education systems.
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Suzanne Perry 3 years ago3 years ago
If you don't have to do the work and earn the degree, it's not even worth the paper it's printed on! (On which it's printed, but who actually speaks like that?) I am so sorry to break it down like this, but, "could of" will never be acceptable for "could've"! "Than" and "then" are not interchangeable! If they determine the solution to the problem is watering down the coursework so that the degree has no … Read More
If you don’t have to do the work and earn the degree, it’s not even worth the paper it’s printed on! (On which it’s printed, but who actually speaks like that?) I am so sorry to break it down like this, but, “could of” will never be acceptable for “could’ve”! “Than” and “then” are not interchangeable! If they determine the solution to the problem is watering down the coursework so that the degree has no credible meaning, that is clearly not a real solution, nor a real degree! It’s supposed to be challenging! That is what gives a degree merit!
MICHAEL LANGDON 3 years ago3 years ago
This is confusing correlation with causation. It's not the courses that are the problem, but rather, the students' lack of skills and poor placement assessments. You'll notice that they're so desperate to get people on board that they had to turn it into a racial issue while ignoring the fact that these students come from areas where their high school was underfunded due to minorities being funneled into segregated areas. Of course, … Read More
This is confusing correlation with causation. It’s not the courses that are the problem, but rather, the students’ lack of skills and poor placement assessments. You’ll notice that they’re so desperate to get people on board that they had to turn it into a racial issue while ignoring the fact that these students come from areas where their high school was underfunded due to minorities being funneled into segregated areas. Of course, the educators will pay the actual cost of this nonsense.
Elizabeth Carson-Bird 6 years ago6 years ago
Well, some students do not belong in college. Period! I feel it is wrong to dangle the carrot in front of them with the idea that if you just take these courses to get you up to speed, you will succeed in attaining a two-year degree. Why do we think that everyone needs a college degree to earn a decent wage or to become a happy, productive citizen. Far too long we have cast … Read More
Well, some students do not belong in college. Period! I feel it is wrong to dangle the carrot in front of them with the idea that if you just take these courses to get you up to speed, you will succeed in attaining a two-year degree. Why do we think that everyone needs a college degree to earn a decent wage or to become a happy, productive citizen.
Far too long we have cast aside vocational and technical education as something less than a BS or BA, or at least an AA and thus a good shot at getting that bachelors. Maybe we would not have so many failures in community college if we pushed other types of education which could be achieved at a two-year institution or some other technical facility upon completing high school.
I teach political science and history at a local college and for a fact, I know that some students would be a lot happier if they pursued a different path – but we have in our minds this hyper-credentialized view of success. Not everyone is suited temperamentally, emotionally, or intellectually for a college degree. Let other paths be open and let our minds be open to other ways.
Kyle Chang 6 years ago6 years ago
Remedial education is the tar pits in Community College!
Mike 7 years ago7 years ago
So now they are just pushing students through college, like was done in high school. Good job!
Jeff Waller 7 years ago7 years ago
History classes are also a barrier … and, oh yeah, so is every other course. Not everyone is cut out for a college degree. DO NOT water the degrees down until everyone can get one. Stop it.
Norbert Onaitis 7 years ago7 years ago
Re: November 29th article. "Report: most remedial students drop out." The key word here is "remedial." These are students enrolled in community colleges because they do not have the minimal skills to be admitted to a "normal" college or university. Why? Because for the preceding 13 years their major field of study was "participant." In Pre K, Kindergarten, Grade School, Middle School, Junior High and High School everyone receives a minimum grade of "C." … Read More
Re: November 29th article. “Report: most remedial students drop out.” The key word here is “remedial.” These are students enrolled in community colleges because they do not have the minimal skills to be admitted to a “normal” college or university. Why? Because for the preceding 13 years their major field of study was “participant.” In Pre K, Kindergarten, Grade School, Middle School, Junior High and High School everyone receives a minimum grade of “C.” They have been taught that it is impossible to fail. They cannot read, spell, punctuate, parse or construct an understandable sentence. They have no concept of Grammar, Syntax. The only thing they know how to do is text with their “smart phone.”
Stop wasting money on 98 percent of the drones in community college. Instead invest it in vocational programs in Junior High School and High School to teach them something that will enable them to earn a living. If not, they will wind up, at the age of 58, living at home with their Mom, earning a few dollars standing on a street corner, waving a sign advertising a new home development, as a guest of the State with the Department of Corrections or as a single Mom receiving ADC.
Wayne Bishop 7 years ago7 years ago
Changing the name instead of addressing the problem IS the problem. The real problem is "successful" graduation from high school or, even more, admission TO high school and all the way down in the grades. An ungodly level of initial placement by age instead of competence and social promotion all the way through high school thereafter. Any attempt at grade level standards is defeated before ever being implemented. Too many of … Read More
Changing the name instead of addressing the problem IS the problem. The real problem is “successful” graduation from high school or, even more, admission TO high school and all the way down in the grades. An ungodly level of initial placement by age instead of competence and social promotion all the way through high school thereafter. Any attempt at grade level standards is defeated before ever being implemented. Too many of our politicians and education leaders burden all of us with race-based sensitivity for equality of outcomes in spite of easily testable competence.
Norman Stahl 7 years ago7 years ago
This genre of report is now a cottage industry bringing nothing new to the picture. They were of import ten years ago when first released. Now we need gold standard research on alternatives and older now “sexy” models of remediation that are actually peer reviewed and then if meeting benchmarks are published in impactful journals.
Meredith Alleruzzo 7 years ago7 years ago
The proposals are truly annoying and disheartening. I taught English to undocumented immigrants with limited education for years and earned MA and PhD degrees in higher education administration. My ESL students were aware of their limitations and were willing to take time to develop an academic foundation for study in higher education. Students who are ill prepared for academic coursework must develop those skills before enrolling in courses. Reports by former students indicated that professors … Read More
The proposals are truly annoying and disheartening. I taught English to undocumented immigrants with limited education for years and earned MA and PhD degrees in higher education administration. My ESL students were aware of their limitations and were willing to take time to develop an academic foundation for study in higher education. Students who are ill prepared for academic coursework must develop those skills before enrolling in courses. Reports by former students indicated that professors at a community college near L.A. were frustrated. One, a psychologist, complained that half the psych class had failed the mid-term and asked why students hadn’t approached her for help. Dealing with it took valuable instructional time from qualified students and was unnecessary. No offense to those with limited academic and English language skills but college is just that- a higher level of education. Those who need remediation to be successful in academic coursework can easily develop those skills in adult education at a very low cost and when they’re prepared enter higher education prepared to succeed. They don’t belong in college or university until they meet prerequisites.
Chris Thorn 7 years ago7 years ago
There are some very successful programs here in California that have shown themselves to be effective helping students placed into remedial courses complete their college level math (and English) requirements. The Carnegie Foundation’s work and the California Acceleration Project both have solid evidence of efficacy.
Replies
Jeff Waller 7 years ago7 years ago
The California Acceleration Project’s approach to “accelerating” math is to remove the algebra and then spread the statistics across two courses. Of COURSE the results are good. You don’t just remove a difficult subject. You figure out what needs to change so that students are able to do it.