Perfect GPA in high school – remedial class in college?
May 18, 2010 by Jacob HawleyPosted in: Academics, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
A 4.0 GPA in high school isn’t what it used to be, this college found. Here’s why so many high-scoring students need remedial courses to catch up.
About 20% of the freshmen entering California State’s East Bay campus with a 4.0 GPA still need remediation in math, English or both. This rate is about 60% when looking at the entire CSU system.
In fact, most of the 25,000 CSU students in remedial classes held at least a B average in high school.
Professors say this is evidence that grades, course titles and honors labels are less important than the strength of the content taught in those courses – which aren’t necessarily up to snuff.
And it may lead to bigger problems down the road. Students who show up with high GPAs from low-standard public schools often grow frustrated when they see a year or two of remedial courses in their future. This frustration can lead to dropping out.
But there are ways to help. Many high school students benefit from college-based outreach programs held in the summer. It gives them a better sense of what will be expected of them in college, and lets them work with motivated students from other schools.
How prepared are the freshmen at your school? Share your experiences in the comments section.
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Tags: California State University East Bay, remedial education
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May 20th, 2010 at 9:09 am
Colleges and employers have been complaining for over ten years that high schools are not preparing their students for the future. It is costing businesses billions of dollars a year to teach new employees to do basic tasks like algebra, writing, and even scheduling. The number of remedial classes offered in colleges are increasing every year. I don’t even want to think how much money and financial aid is spent on what students ought to know BEFORE graduating high school. Remember, these remedial classes do not count towards the college degree, they only extend the length of time it takes to graduate from college.
I am not against all remedial classes. There are students who have been away from school for a long time and need a refresher course. Or are new to the country, language, and school system. But there is something wrong when recent high school graduates cannot perform basic tasks.
Something needs to change in the high schools (and elementary schools too). Students should no longer receive diplomas just for showing up to school for twelve years. Diplomas should return to being proof that students are capable of performing tasks and displaying skills at a twelfth-grade level. But what will it take for this change to come about? After all, people has been complaining about this for over ten years and still nothing has changed.
May 20th, 2010 at 11:55 am
I agree with you, humbug.
Many Americans are so worried about illegal immigration they do not realize that most employment in high-demand, such as information technology, is going overseas to Asia, Europe, and India.
Having finished teaching full-time at a community college for one year I have an increased understanding of why the U.S. economy will continue to be tougher for Americans.
I used to be surprised at the remedial courses offered at a community college. I now comprehend. If given a step-by-step procedure, they will do it (sometimes not fully correct or just incorrect), although questions may still be asked. If given an assignment, they will quit as soon as thinking is involved. Most American kids graduating from high school have very little critical thinking skills and tend to give up when something greater than Facebook or a cellphone requires more thinking.
Employers want employees to think rather than be thought of and being thought of is a primary problem for Americans.
May 30th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
As a student currently on route toward finising up communiy college in the fall of 2010, I too was one of those students who began his college career in remedial classes. But as I started to progress to college course work, I became fully aware that I was competant to achieve great things. Can I say that remedial classes helped me out? Yes, it did. Was it a stigmatizing? Yes it was. But looking back on journey from remedial to college courses, I can say that it help through