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news
Do not leave students
behind
By Ken Hanson
On-line Forty-Niner
As Cal State Long
Beach prepares for the flood of new students from Tidal Wave
II, the subject of remedial education is a hot issue for the
campus, as well as the California State University system.
As CSULB attempts to deal with impaction status, administrators
are trying to find ways to alleviate the need for remediation
in first-time freshman. One of the plans, implemented in 1996
in an edict from the Chancellor's Office, requires students
in need of remedial classes to complete those classes in the
first year of enrollment at the university. If students do
not complete remediation classes they may face academic disqualification.
"Our intention is not to disqualify anyone," Armando
Contreras, executive assistant to CSULB President Robert Maxson,
said. "There have been cases where we have given extensions
to students when they were not able to enroll in the required
remedial classes." The extensions are given for one semester,
Contreras added.
The actual number of students who face academic disqualification
is difficult to ascertain because many students who do not
complete the remediation requirements leave the campus on
their own volition, according to Vincent Novack, director
of Institutional Research at CSULB.
According to statistics compiled by Institutional Research,
less than half of first-time freshman were prepared for college
level math and English. The university is offering nearly
70 remedial classes because of these staggering figures. That
amounts to more than 1,700 seats in remedial classes, based
upon the number of students in math and English classes.
CSULB has 35 remedial math classes with 33 students per class
for a total of 1,157 seats and 34 remedial English classes
with 18 seats per class for a total of 612 seats.
"I think the whole notion of remediation needs to be
revisited," said Entry Level Mathematics Coordinator
Larry Brownson. "These test scores are a good indicator
of how well a student will do in any subject. I personally
feel that these students [who need remediation] would be better
served if they went to a junior college and took care of math
and English first. We should bring students who are ready
on-board right away."
Mark Wiley, composition coordianator of the English department
said he feels the university has an ethical obligation to
help remedial students.
"Many of these students come to my class thinking they
are prepared for college level work until they fail placement
tests," he said.
Part of the problem is that placement tests are given too
late, Contreras said.
"The dates of placement tests is set systemwide,"
he said. "We are now looking at ways of testing students
in high school and getting them to take remedial classes the
summer before their official enrollment."
When asked why students are accepted into the university while
not achieving proficiency in college level math and English,
Contreras explained that admission standards are set by the
state according to grade point averages and course patterns
in high school.
"We need to get away from blaming students," Wiley
said. "Many faculty and staff members just want the problem
to go away, but they don't look at the problem. We need to
stop passing the buck onto the students."
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