Recent studies conducted by the Community College Research Center at Columbia University found that about 25 percent of students at community colleges are mistakenly assigned to remedial courses when they could actually be successful in college-level courses, says Andrea Hayes for Yahoo! News. Most community colleges place students based on the scores they receive on a placement test administered at the college – usually the College Board’s Accuplacer or the ACT’s Compass. The studies conducted showed that placing students based upon their high school grade point average would be just as effective, if not more, at determining the appropriate courses for students. While remedial courses are optional at some colleges, they are mandatory at many. These courses do not earn students any college credit even though the student has to pay tuition for them. Having to take remedial courses also lengthens the amount of time a student must spend taking courses toward a degree…
…Read MorePodcast Series: Innovations in Education
Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.