Cal-Pass remediation report

Interesting, although secondary in this article, there’s an indication that whatever they’re doing in high school is effective in helping universities direct students on what topics they still need to strengthen before being college ready.

* Community colleges in California might be able to significantly reduce the need for remedial education among students by using the results of 11th grade state testing to better direct students prior to enrollment, says a new report from the California Partnership for Achieving Student Success, known as Cal-PASS. California State University campuses have had success in reducing the need for remediation by using high school results to show students very specifically what they need to do to be college-ready by the time they leave high school, and the report says community colleges could have similar results.

From the Summary:
A majority of students entering California community colleges require remediation in either math or English. In addition to being costly, remediation at college level doesn’t always translate into academic success for students.

Several studies have shown that there may be ways to identify students who will need remediation at college and correct that path before they have completed high school, thereby giving them stronger skills at college entry and better positioning them for college success. This study examines the relationships between California students’ high school achievement in math and English, measured by statewide standardized tests and grades, and the levels of and grades in their first attempted math and English courses at community college. If high school standardized test results or course grades predict college preparedness, the need for remediation in college may be reduced by putting students on a corrective trajectory before they leave high school.
California’s 110 community colleges do not use a statewide placement assessment system. They are governed by 72 independent, local governing boards, and each district has the right to establish appropriate methods to determine student placement. Colleges are required to consider multiple measures in placing students, using test scores as well as other sources of information about students’ skills, abilities, motivations, and social support. Despite the variation in approaches to assessment, they all point to the same conclusion: Many students entering community colleges are
not prepared to perform at college level in English and math. Remediation rates could be as high as 75 percent to 90 percent at some colleges (Johnstone, 2004).