Gates Foundation supports college readiness apps


At the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), for instance, there will be more than 1,000 freshmen unprepared for basic college-level math courses this year. Students who require remedial help are far less likely to graduate from college within six years, according to national statistics.

In North Carolina, the percentage of high school graduates who required at least one remedial class increased for the third consecutive year, even as state high school graduation rates have jumped by nearly 10 points since 2006.

A U.S. Department of Education (ED) report released last year said that as much as 60 percent of incoming community college students enroll “in at least one developmental education course to bring their reading, writing, and mathematics skills up to college level.”

Developmental classes that help new community college students catch up with their peers can be critical to earning a degree, according to the ED report, but remedial education “may not improve students’ persistence or completion rates and, in some cases, may actually hinder their progress toward educational goals.”

At an education conference at Montgomery College in Maryland last year, early intervention was stressed by several speakers who addressed remedial classes in community colleges.

College officials and policy analysts said summer bridge programs would help high school students prepare for college without having to enroll in non-credit-bearing remedial courses.

Winners of the College Knowledge Challenge will be judged by officials from the College Summit, the King Center Charter School, Facebook, and the Gates Foundation, and a panel of nationally known experts in education and technology.

Thirty entrants will receive grant money.

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