remediation: too many students need it, and too few succeed when they get it
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Remediation: Too many students need it, and too few succeed when they get it. Finding 5. 75%. 25%. Remedial students are much less likely to graduate. What do we do about it?. Divert students from traditional approaches. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Remediation: Too many students need it, and too few succeed when they get it.
FINDING 5
75%
25%
Remedial students are much less likely to graduate.
What do we do about it?• Divert students from traditional approaches.• Mainstream students into college-level
courses, provide co-requisite and embedded support.
• Intensify instruction and minimize the time needed for preparation for college-level work.
• Eliminate exit points where students are lost by not passing or not enrolling in courses.
• Provide alternative pathways to quality career certificates.
• Overhaul the current placement system.
What do we do about it?Answer this fundamental question:
Is what’s being taught in remediation what students really need? Revisit the structure and goals of
remedial math. Make math a gateway, not a gatekeeper.
Reading and writing should be integrated.
Students are wasting time on excess credits …
FINDING 4
75%
25%
… and taking too much time to earn a degree.
Staying in school longer doesn’t significantly increase students’ chances of graduating.
• For instance, giving full-time community college students one extra year to earn an associate degree and giving full-time four-year college students two extra years to earn a bachelor’s degree only increases graduation rates by 4.9% — for both groups.
• We must help them complete faster.
What do we do about it?
• Require formal, on-time completion plans.• Enact caps of 120 credit hours for a
bachelor’s degree and 60 credit hours for an associate degree.
• Create a common general education core program to ensure consistency.
• Require full transferability of common core courses.
Nontraditional students are the new majority.
FINDING 1
75% of students are college commuters, often juggling families, jobs, and school.
25% of students attend full-time at residential colleges.
75%
25%
Graduation odds are especially low for students who are African American …
FINDING 3
… Hispanic
… older
… or poor
What do we do about it?• Use block schedules.• Allow students to proceed toward degrees or
certificates at a faster pace.• Reduce the time students spend in class
through online instruction or demonstrated competency.
• Form peer support and learning networks.• Embed remediation into the regular college
curriculum.• Provide better information on program costs
and outcomes.
Too few students graduate. For part-timers, results are tragic — even when they have twice as much time.
FINDING 2
1-year certificate within 2 years 2-year associate within 4 years
4-year bachelor’s within 8 years
What do we do about it?• Urge states to measure what matters most.– Outcome metrics
• degrees awarded annually • graduation rates• transfer rates
– Progress metrics • remediation • success in first-year math and English • credit accumulation• retention rates • course completion• time and credits to degree
What do we do about it?
• States must get serious that graduation, not just enrollment, is the goal.
• States should set completion goals, statewide and by campus.– Start with a handful of explicit, easy-to-
understand measures.– Tie a modest percentage of funding to
performance.