New California State University remedial policies will hurt minorities

California State University Chancellor Tim White has altered CSU remedial entry requirements in the hope of improving university graduation rates, which often take six years or more.

In the process, the chancellor’s new policy may well increase the difficulty of minorities to successfully navigate the undergraduate experience. And perhaps unwittingly, he has all but assured that future generations of CSU graduates will be less competitive than ever in the job market because of less developed skills.

Why the change? Too many students take too long to graduate, the chancellor has written, because of unnecessary preadmission requirements. Thus, in order to improve graduation rates, the CSU system will no longer require placement exams in English and math, which have been given to ascertain student preparedness in those fields.

Historically, between 40 to 50 percent of incoming students had previously failed English and/or math entry exams, and therefore were required to take noncredit remedial courses to correct their deficiencies. Their need to take these courses delays their undergraduate education.

But beginning in fall 2018, remedial instruction will be merged with for-credit classes. Thus, with these students no longer compelled to take remedial courses beforehand, they will be able to manage the university curriculum faster with fewer restraints.

Or will they?

The logic connected with this change is dumbfounding. By putting students with preparation deficiencies into the education pipeline with more skilled students, the new admissions system exaggerates the lopsidedness of the learning playing field.

Those who would not have required English or math help will do fine, thank you, while their less prepared counterparts will have a tougher challenge to keep up. Even if their remedial instruction is merged with “real” courses, it’s unlikely that unprepared students will get the quality foundational work they would have received with the remedial component.

Simply put, CSU is playing a numbers game at the expense of less prepared students.

In fall 2016, 18 percent of incoming white freshmen were required to take either remedial English or math courses. However, 59 percent of black students and 47 percent of Latino students needed remedial courses in English, math or both subjects. These are the groups most likely to suffer with the elimination of remedial programs. CSU plays a vital role, particularly with minorities. Onethird of all freshmen are firstgeneration attendees, with sizable contingents of Latinos and African-American students. CSU proudly reports that the system provides 62 percent of the bachelor degrees to California’s Latinos and 47 percent of the bachelor degrees awarded to California’s African-American students.

But the graduation rates differ markedly by race. According to CSU records, 57 percent of CSU students who entered as freshmen in 2009 graduated within six years. However, when broken down by race, 64 percent of whites graduated within the six-year period, compared with 52 percent of Latinos and 42 percent of African-Americans.

And these results occurred with the remedial education programs in place.

It’s against this background that White has decided to eliminate the remedial classes. Given the graduation data that already show differences with the existing remedial components, one can only surmise that the differences will grow.

No doubt, this is not the chancellor’s intention, but absent radical changes in the K-12 public education network, higher education opportunities for minorities will in all likelihood diminish because they will no longer have the benefit of the remedial courses designed to help them begin their university educations with a solid foundation.

It’s a numbers game that Californians can ill afford if we truly aspire to provide equal opportunities and paths for success to all students.

Larry N. Gerston is a political science professor emeritus at San Jose State University and author of “Not So Golden After All: The Rise and Fall of California.”