Tag: College Placement
Placement Tests Put Too Many Students In Remedial Courses
COLLEGES MISASSIGN MANY TO REMEDIAL CLASSES
Two new studies from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College have found that community colleges unnecessarily place tens of thousands of entering students in remedial classes — and that their placement decisions would be just as good if they relied on high school grade-point averages instead of standardized placement tests. The studies address one of the most intractable problems of higher education: the dead end of remedial education. At most community colleges, a majority of entering students who recently graduated from high school are placed in remedial classes, where they pay tuition but earn no college credit. Over all, less than a quarter of those who start in remedial classes go on to earn two-year degrees or transfer to four-year colleges. The article is in The New York Times via Gay Glyburn At Carnegie Foundation
Texas Considers Tracking In Community Colleges
Facing dwindling state dollars and more pressure to graduate students, Texas community colleges may begin steering students who test at the lowest skill levels toward shorter vocational programs or adult basic education before attempting college academics. Right now, most community colleges are enrolling those students in a gantlet of remedial classes they have little chance of surviving. (San Antonio Express-News, 01/21/11)
