Remedial college classes plague Shelby Co. students
More than half of them needed help at post-secondary schools
More than half of Shelby County students entering a public college in Tennessee in 2017 required a remedial class before they could start earning college credit, according to statewide data released Wednesday to the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee.
The data, the first of its kind released by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, also revealed a chasm in college preparedness among schools within Shelby County. Some schools had more than 90 percent of their in-state, public college-bound students requiring at least one remedial class.
Across the county, 58 percent of students entering a public college or university in Tennessee in 2017 required a remedial math class before they could start earning college credit. Just over 40 percent of students needed a remedial English class.
The data, which also breaks down by high school, is the first of its kind released by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and highlights the state’s lingering issues with readying students for college.
Its release comes as the state is continuing to send more and more students to college for free through the Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect programs. It also shows the difficulty facing the state to reach its adopted “Drive to 55” goal of 55 percent of Tennessee residents having a college degree or certificate by 2025.
State Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-bristol, who requested the data from the state, said the information is a
“bomb” that makes him rethink the state’s K-12 improvements compared to the rest of the nation.
“Taxpayers across the state and localities are putting money into the school system,” Lundberg said. “They have paid to educate those children so when you get to graduate 12th grade you should have a low number (of kids needing remediation) or else someone has to pay again for something you should have done before.
“And if you really need remediation in math or reading in college, you are probably not going to finish.”
Statewide, 46 percent of students required a remedial math course, and 30 percent required remedial English.
Students require a remedial class, which is equivalent to a high school-level course, if they test below an 18 out of 36 on the English or math sections of the ACT exam. ACT results have long showed college readiness is an issue statewide and in Shelby County, but the data released Wednesday shows the true impact on students who go on to higher education.
The data does not include private colleges or students who went to school out-of-state, which would tell a more complete picture of each high school’s ability to ready its students for college. But it still reflects the preparedness levels of 4,361 students who graduated from a Shelby County high school, including the municipal districts, in 2017.