“Given remedial math sequences’ high attrition rates, placement has a significant influence on whether students progress through college.”

DEGREES OF FREEDOM:
Probing Math Placement Policies at California Colleges and Universities

Recent K-12 education reforms have been centered on improving students’ academic preparation in order to reduce their need for remedial education in college. According to the latest report by LearningWorks and Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), reformers would also be well-advised to focus on the inadequacies of the placement exams that determine whether college students must take remedial courses.

DEGREES OF FREEDOM: Probing Math Placement Policies at California Colleges and Universities, the last in a series of three reports by higher education policy analyst Pamela Burdman exploring college math requirements in California and nationally, explores the limitations of remedial math placement exams, and asks whether those exams unfairly send the majority of community college students to remedial math courses, deterring them from completing a degree.

“Re-shaping community college placement policies may be as important or even more important than redesigning the courses into which those policies place students,” noted Linda Collins, executive director of LearningWorks.

Click here to download the report.