Destructive remedial classes must go

Remedial classes have got to go.

Remedial classes are not just a necessary evil to be accepted when it comes to higher education, but a dangerous trap that can shatter students dream of earning their diploma. Many who cannot avoid remedial classes are likely to never advance further in their education. Being forced to take remedial classes for no credit while also balancing other classes is incredibly demoralizing.

Many students leave high school unprepared for the rigors of college education, and it is up to those colleges to prepare incoming students for higher-level material. The problem is, only about a third of high school seniors were ready for college-level math and reading according to 2015 data by the National Assessment of Educational Practices.

Many colleges require students to take placement tests to figure out if they require remedial classes to get them up to speed. But it is becoming increasingly apparent that remedial classes do not work as intended and may serve as a barrier towards higher education.

A survey of California community colleges from 2014-15 by the Public Policy Institute of California titled “Determining College Readiness in California’s Community Colleges,” found that community colleges across the state have a number of ways used to identify readiness that are ineffective and may serve as a barrier towards transferring or earning a degree. Although the state requires community colleges to determine student readiness for college-level courses, there is a lot of leeway in how those schools figure it out.

Most opt for tests that base readiness on the score, but the PPIC survey found that the actual test score varied from school to school, and colleges that serve more people of color were found to have a higher math cut scores. This serves to keep people of color trapped in remedial classes and out of higher education, whether intentional or not.

High school achievement data was also found by the PPIC to be more useful at determining readiness than placement tests, though not every community college uses this data unless a student challenges their placement based on test score. Assessment and placement of ESL students were found to be offered less exemption opportunities and test preparation activities in ESL, compared to math and English.

A lower proportion of colleges use high school achievement data for ESL placement, indicating that English Learners may not have access to more accurate methods of determining readiness for college material.

Besides standardizing placement scores to make readiness placement fairer and focusing more on high school achievement data, the use of remedial courses should replaced by a program similar to that of Guttmann Community College. This City University of New York’s so-called co-requisite model still uses tests to screen students, but those students who need the extra help are enrolled in both remedial-classes and college-level courses and credit is not delayed. In 2015, Guttman Community College’s within-three-years graduation rate was 49.5 percent, compared to 21 percent for all CUNY community colleges.

Starting Fall 2018, Cal State plans to drop placement exams in math and English and noncredit remedial courses, which over 25,000 incoming freshman had to take each fall. Chancellor Timothy White issued an executive order for the CSU program to restructure its approach to remedial education and focus on determining readiness via high school grades, ACT and SAT scores. This is part of Dr. White’s ambitious plan “Graduation Initiative 2025” which hopes to increase graduation rates, decrease time to earn a degree and eliminate achievement gaps for all students.

Southwestern College should join the ranks of those colleges that seek to improve graduation and transfer rates by eliminating their reliance on placement tests.