States Take Action – Students Who Struggle and Need to Take Remedial Courses Not Ready for College

When a student isn’t academically ready to tackle college courses, are remedial programs helping? There’s a growing sense among experts and lawmakers that the traditional model of remedial college education needs to change.

Research shows many college students who take developmental education classes, usually required when they score low on placement exams, fail to graduate. Only 28 percent of two-year college students who took at least one developmental course earned a degree or certificate within 8.5 years, compared to 43 percent of non-remedial students, according to one study. The study concluded the gap in graduation rates reflected differences in learning skills carried over from high school, rather than the impact of remedial classes themselves.

By Adrienne Lu, Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.pewstates.org/projects/stateline/headlines/states-reform-college-remedial-education-85899492704