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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT
NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS
JUNE 1991
SURVEY REPORT
COLLEGE-LEVEL REMEDIAL EDUCATION IN THE FALL OF 1989
Contractor Report
Wendy Mansfield
Elizabeth Farris
Westat, Inc.
MacKnight Black
Postsecondary Education Statistics Division
National Center for Education Statistics
Remedial education has been an enduring, integral part of higher
education, as has the concern about the place of remediation in
college-level education. That concern has led to a long-standing
debate which encompasses issues of equity--providing adequate
preparation for a diverse student population--and issues of
quality--ensuring high standards at colleges and universities.
As early as the late 1800s, colleges and universities in America
operated programs to prepare students for undergraduate work. Often,
however, the students enrolled in such preparatory program were barely
teenagers. Therefore, they did not have the same number of years of
elementary and secondary school education as today's college-level
remedial students. Over 40 percent of entering students in colleges in
the United States in 1894 were preparatory students.[1] Preparatory
programs were considered pre-college and generally were found at 2-year
colleges from the 1920s until the late 1960s.
In the 1970s, remedial education at 2-year and 4-year colleges became
more common in response to changing enrollment patterns of entering
freshmen, declining high school achievement levels, and adoption of
open admission standards on the part of many institutions. The state
of remedial education in higher education institutions as the 1990s
begin is the topic of this report.
This report presents the findings of a Fast Response Survey System
(FRSS) survey of colleges on remedial/developmental programs offered
during fall 1989. The survey was conducted to meet the need for
information at the national level on the extent of remedial education
and the characteristics of remedial programs. The survey provides
national estimates on the following:
o Institutions that offered remedial courses;
o Reading, writing, and mathematics remedial
courses offered;
o Students enrolled in and passing remedial
courses; and
o Faculty teaching remedial courses.
It also provides information on characteristics of remedial courses and
programs, such as the type of credit given, requirement status, use of
placement tests, most frequent provider of remedial education,
evaluations conducted, support services offered, activities engaged in
to reduce the need for remedial education, and maintenance of retention
and baccalaureate degree graduation rates for students who enrolled in
remedial courses.
This study provides the first data collected at the national level
since a 1983-84 FRSS survey on the same topic. In addition to updating
the national picture of college remedial education, the current survey
attempted to furnish estimates of racial/ethnic participation
in remedial education in order to determine the extent of remedial
education provided to minority students by higher education
institutions. Racial/ethnic breakdowns are not reported, however,
because the percentage of institutions that maintained and could
provide these data was too low to serve as the basis for the
computation of national estimates.
The survey first asked whether institutions offered a remedial course
in reading, writing, or mathematics. "Remedial studies,"for the
purposes of this study, were defined as any program, course, or other
activity (in the area of reading, writing, or mathematics) for students
lacking those skills necessary to perform college-level work at the
level required by the institution. Throughout the questionnaire, these
activities were referred to as "remedial/ developmental." However,
respondents were asked to include any activity meeting the definition,
regardless of name. Colleges may have used one of a variety of names
such as compensatory and basic skills, all of which meet the definition
for remedial studies.
The report presents all of the data for all institutions, by control
(public and private), type (2-year and 4-year), geographic region
(Northeast, Central, Southeast, and West), enrollment size of
institution (less than 1,000; 1,000 to 4,999; and 5,000 or more) and
minority status (student body less than 50 percent white and student
body greater than or equal to 50 percent white). Some of the
characteristics are interrelated. For example, only 22 percent of
2-year institutions are private, compared to 70 percent of 4-year
institutions. Similar patterns generally emerge for public and 2-year
colleges; likewise, private and 4-year colleges often have similar
patterns.
Survey findings in this report are organized into three main sections.
The first section discusses the number of institutions, courses,
freshmen, and teachers involved in college-level remedial education;
the second describes remedial courses and programs; the third compares
data from this survey to data from the 1983-84 survey.
Highlights
o Three out of four colleges and universities offered at least one
remedial course in fall 1989. Sixty-eight percent offered
mathematics, 65 percent writing, and 58 percent reading.
o Both in institutions with a predominantly minority student body
(less than 50 percent white) and institutions with a predominantly
nonminority student body (greater than or equal to 50 percent
white), 74 percent of the institutions offered at least one
remedial course.
o At least one remedial course was offered in 91 percent of public
colleges, 90 percent of 2-year colleges, 64 percent of 4-year
colleges, and 58 percent of private colleges.
o On average, colleges with remedial courses provided two different
courses in a given remedial subject; on average, 15 people
per college taught one or more remedial courses in fall 1989.
o Thirty percent of all college freshmen took at least one remedial
course in fall 1989. Twenty-one percent took mathematics, 16
percent writing, and 13 percent reading.
o At institutions with a predominantly minority student body, 55
percent of freshmen enrolled in at least one remedial course;
at institutions with a predominantly nonminority student body,
27 percent of freshmen enrolled in at least one remedial course.
o Approximately 17 percent of institutions were unable to provide
enrollment data for freshmen in remedial courses. About 30
percent of institutions that provided remedial course enrollment
data were unable to provide racial/ethnic breakdowns.
o Remedial courses were passed by 77 percent of those taking
remedial reading, 73 percent taking remedial writing, and 67
percent taking remedial mathematics.
o Approximately one-fourth of institutions were unable to provide
passing rates for freshmen in remedial courses, and about
one-half were unable to provide passing rates by racial/ethnic
breakdowns.
o About 20 percent of colleges offering remedial education had a
separate remedial department or division; 98 percent offered at
least one support service, such as peer tutoring and counseling;
and 97 percent of institutions conducted at least one evaluation
of remedial programs, such as reviewing student completion rates
of remedial courses.
o Approximately 20 percent of colleges awarded degree credit for
remedial courses. About two-thirds awarded institutional credit,
which counted in determining full-time status but not toward
degree completion. One-tenth awarded no credit at all for such
courses.
o Remedial courses were required for students not meeting
institutional standards in 68 percent of collegs offering
remedial writing, 63 percent offering remedial mathematics, and
54 percent offering remedial reading.
o About 90 percent of institutions providing remedial courses used
placement tests to select participants for remedial courses;
remedial-course exit skills were based on regular academic-course
entry skills by 86 percent of institutions for remedial
mathematics courses, by 81 percent for remedial writing courses,
and by 70 percent for remedial reading courses.
o One-third of colleges providing remedial education allowed
students to take any regular academic courses while taking
remedial courses; in only 2 percent could students take no
regular academic courses while taking remedial courses.
o Forty percent of colleges providing remedial courses were not
engaged in any activities to reduce the need for remedial
education. Fifty-four percent communicated with high schools
about skills needed for college work, and 19 percent participated
in or organized workshops for high school faculty.
o Forty-seven percent of institutions were unable to provide
retention rates to the second year for freshmen who had enrolled
in at least one remedial course, and approximately 66 percent of
institutions were unable to provide these rates by race/ethnicity.
o Eighty-one percent of colleges did not maintain baccalaureate
degree graduation rates for entering freshmen who enrolled in at
least one remedial course, and 87 percent did not maintain
graduation rates by racial/ethnic group for these students.
o Institutions offering one or more remedial courses in reading,
writing, or mathematics decreased from 82 percent in 1983-84 to
74 percent in 1989-90.
[1] Arthur Levine, Handbook on Undergraduate Curriculum. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1978.
A Copy of the report COLLEGE-LEVEL REMEDIAL EDUCATION IN THE FALL OF
1989 is available for $3.00 from Superintendent of Documents,
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402-9325
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