Unit 4: Remedial Classes

I have absolutely nothing against remediation. Sometimes students, for some reason or another, do not get the necessary skills that they need to perform on the college level. However, this problem is costing colleges billions. According to an article in USA Today, "a new study calculates, one-third of American college students have to enroll in remedial classes. The bill to colleges and taxpayers for trying to bring them up to speed on material they were supposed to learn in high school comes to between $2.3 billion and $2.9 billion annually" (Colleges spend billions on remedial classes to prep freshmen, 2008). This is reportedly the number one problem in California's community college system, the biggest in the country. Ninety five percent of students entering Long Beach City College require remediation (Colleges spend billions on remedial classes to prep freshmen, 2008). What's more is that these percentages are comparable to colleges across the country. Sadly, this is not a cost that can easily be "cut" from the budget. Where would the majority of our students be without remediation? Remediation makes college more accessible, but is the cost too great?

Associated Press. (2008, September 19). Colleges spend billions on remedial classes to prep freshmen. USA Today. Retrieved on October 28, 2009, from http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-09-15-Colleges-remedialclasses_N.htm