By the Associated Press
11/6/2006
As more people enroll in college, the need for remedial classes that prepare students for higher-level work has also increased, education officials said.
About 60 percent of students entering two-year colleges need at least one remedial class, compared with about 30 percent of those entering four-year colleges nationwide, said George Kuh, director of the Indiana University Postsecondary Research Center.
"The number is staggering," Kuh told The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne. "The reason (the numbers are) higher today is because so many people are going on to college today."
Education officials at both the high school and college level are working to help students become better prepared for college.
Ivy Tech Community College Northeast in Fort Wayne and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne are working with area school districts to better align what students learn in high school with the skills they need for college.
Wendy Robinson, superintendent of Fort Wayne Community Schools, said students need to know what is expected of them.
"We've got to start kids earlier with the goal of going to college in mind," she said. "The fact is we have to start earlier with clearer expectations."
Fairmount resident Craig Havens didn't focus on academics in high school and never planned to go to college. But at age 25, he decided to go back to school to earn an associate degree in nursing.
Before he could take classes at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast in Fort Wayne, Havens had to pass two lower-level math classes that don't count toward college credit. Havens said high schools should stress the importance of college.
"You can't go out and find a job without a college education," he said.
Remedial classes can help students catch up before moving on to other work, Kuh said. But some students, like those who start college needing remedial reading courses, can struggle.
"Nationally, 70 percent of students who start college needing a remedial reading course fail to get a degree eight years out," Kuh said. "Reading is such a critical skill because it affects every other subject including mathematics."
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