School offers almost twice as many remedial courses than
college-level classes
Gilroy – New college students entering Gavilan in the fall may have noticed something unusual about the course catalog: Almost twice as many remedial classes are offered than college-level courses.
In other words, twice as many college students are taking courses such as pre-algebra or preparation for college reading – classes comparable to early high school courses – than students taking pre-calculus or composition and literature classes.
“This is not a Gilroy problem by any means – this is something most high schools and colleges have been confronting for years,” said Teri Freedman, spokesperson for Gilroy Unified School District. “Even students going into the California University system who have to be in the top 12 percent of their class to be accepted are getting there and finding that they’re deficient in writing and in math. I think this is something that’s been true since the mid-1980s.”
Though Freedman said Gilroy High School and Gavilan College have been working together for years to try and alleviate these problems, deficiencies persist. Of about 175 GHS seniors who took the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) in 2006, just 34 percent passed the mathematics portion and just 30 percent passed the English Language Arts portion of the test. That leaves about 66 percent of students entering college unprepared for college-level courses, which is on par with the county and the state.
GUSD board Trustee Tom Bundros said he wasn’t surprised that Gavilan offered remedial courses, but he was surprised by how many sections of those courses were offered.
“I would be very curious to know who exactly is filling those classes,” he said. “I’m wondering if they are really new high school graduates, or if they are people coming back to school after a long time away, or people who don’t have their high school education who have decided to go back to school. I think it’s true to say our students are leaving less prepared than years passed – we know that from (California State University) numbers that say 50 percent of students all over the state aren’t prepared for their college level math and English courses. It’s something worth looking into.”
Gavilan College counselors, administrators and board members did not return calls to clarify the demographics of students in remedial courses before press time.
“I think high school isn’t preparing students for college,” said Betsy Avelar, 22, the Associated Student Body president at Gavilan College. “I think that I may have ended up in English 250, too, if I hadn’t taken (Advanced Placement) English in high school. That class really got me ready for college-level courses. I think more high school classes should do that, not just AP classes. And maybe counselors have something to do with that, too. Maybe if more high school counselors encouraged students to take AP classes instead of underestimating students’ abilities, more students would be successful.”
Avelar also expressed concerns that assessment tests administered by colleges don’t place students in classes accurately.
GHS senior Alexis Dalke, 17, agreed that AP classes – which are taken in high school but follow a college-level curriculum and can earn students college credit – are key in helping prepare students for college. She said she would definitely be prepared upon completing the AP classes she is taking this year.
“I think students who don’t take AP classes are going to struggle a little bit more once they’re in college because AP classes are basically a college course,” said Dalke, who is also Associated Student Body president at GHS. “AP classes make you think deeper, deeper, deeper and get you to look at things differently. They push you to think like you’ll be thinking in college.”
But Freedman said curriculum isn’t the only factor in lower test scores and higher numbers of remedial classes at college levels. She pointed out that with increasing numbers of students pursuing higher education, the average will fall somewhat almost by default.
Dalke also said she felt people shouldn’t automatically blame high school curriculum for education issues at college levels.
“It’s up to students to take responsibility for doing their work and for getting into the classes that will help them be ready for college when they graduate,” she said. “I do think there are some things at the high school level that need to be addressed, but I also think people need to look at what’s happening at the junior highs and elementary schools. A lot of students are already having problems by the time they get into high school.”
