Large majorities of incoming California community college students place into remedial-level mathematics and English¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2010 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2015: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Based on placement test results, over 83 percent of incoming students place into remedial-level mathematics and 72 percent into remedial-level English. → Venezia 2010

Evidence¶

Venezia 2010¶

Venezia, A., Bracco, K. R., & Nodine, T. (2010). One-shot deal? Students' perceptions of assessment and course placement in California's community colleges. San Francisco: WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED566386

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

The report cites a California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (2009) survey of assessment results, reporting that "over 83 percent of incoming community college students place into remedial-level mathematics" and 72 percent into remedial-level English. These are second-hand system statistics, not data collected in this study.

"over 83 percent of incoming community college students place into remedial-level mathematics (with 6 1 percent placing two or more levels below college-level mathematics), and 72 percent place into remedial-level English"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Cut scores for transfer-level mathematics placement vary considerably across California community colleges, sending mixed signals about college readiness — related
• California community colleges' placement assessments converge on a few common instruments, with ACCUPLACER most common in mathematics and English — related
• Under EO 1110's first year, the majority of CSU entering first-year students were placed in Category II in both Written Communication (74 percent) and Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning (63 percent) — related
• Students placed into Level 3 and Level 4 intensive pathways had the highest first-attempt passing rates in credit-bearing ELA courses, while Level 2 intensive pathway students had the lowest — related
• Only 11 percent of first-time CMI students between spring 2022 and spring 2024 placed into credit-bearing ELA courses, down from 22 percent under the prior placement system — related
• Most incoming students do not understand that placement test performance determines which classes they can take — related
• The ELA placement test was most precise for students whose scores would place them into developmental courses, with precision declining above the 40th percentile — related
• Many community college students lack individual access to a counselor to discuss placement results, and students in dedicated programs report greater counseling satisfaction — related
• Grade retention and tracking students into remedial instruction undermine achievement, while formative assessment with acceleration strategies improves learning — related
• Developmental education is a major loss point: 60 percent of community college students are referred to developmental education but only 30 percent ever take subsequent college-level courses — related