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MnSCU remedial report not good news for FL, North Branch schools |
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Wednesday, 16 April 2008 |
Joe Nathan
Education Columnist
Forest Lake High School students need to take more challenging courses, according to a recently released state-wide report. First, 50 percent of Forest Lake and North Branch graduates, 2003-2006 entered Minnesota public 2 or 4 year colleges within a year of graduating from high school, compared to a statewide average of 49 percent.
But Forest Lake and North Branch also have a disturbing percentage of graduates who entered Minnesota public colleges or universities, taking remedial courses in reading, writing or math.
Forty-six percent of Forest Lakes graduates 2003-2006 and 43 percent of North Branch grads who entered these 2-4 year public higher ed institutions took remedial courses in those fields, compared to 38 percent of graduates throughout the state.
Give educators and families credit for helping many students enter two or four year programs. But students clearly need more encouragement to take advantage of challenging high school courses – especially in math.
The data comes from “Getting Prepared 2008,” a recently released study done by the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State College system.
The report is available at www.mnscu.edu/media/publications/pdf/gettingprepared08.pdf
Minnesota trends are not encouraging. The percentage of Minnesota high school graduates attending public colleges and universities is not increasing. It was 49 percent in 2000-2003, and in 2003-2006.
Even more important, the percentage of Minnesota high school graduates taking remedial courses on entering public colleges and universities is not declining.
It was 33 percent for the class of 1999, 36 percent for the classes of 2001-2003, 37 percent for the class of 2004, and 38 percent for the class of 2005.
As legislators and educators try to improve education, the trend should be down, not up.
The report suggests possible reasons for the increase.
First, “since 1999...larger percentages of new high school graduates were attending public colleges and universities.” But since 2001, “the percentage of new high school graduates enrolling in Minnesota public higher education institutions has been relatively steady at 49 or 50 percent.”
Next, the report notes that recently the Minnesota State College and University system has done “more thorough placement testing and enforcement of required enrollment in developmental education.”
Unfortunately, Minnesota taxpayers and families are paying millions of dollars for students to take classes covering material that most of them should have mastered while in high school. This is especially true in math.
Of the 2005 high school graduates who took remedial courses in Minnesota public colleges or universities, 36 percent took a course in “developmental mathematics” compared to only 17 percent in “developmental writing” and 13 percent in “developmental reading.”
Developmental – also known as remedial – courses do not count toward graduation.
Statistics cited above may help account for disturbingly low graduation rates at many Minnesota public colleges and universities (I’ll write about that in a future column).
Going to either a two or year college has many benefits.
But here’s a strong suggestion to current high school students: Save substantial time and money by taking free, challenging math high school classes, now.
Joe Nathan, a former public school teacher and administrator, directs the Center for School Change, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota
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