Washington Monthly - September/October 2022 - 40

I
n numerous areas, the pandemic deepened rifts in educational
preparedness that will resound for years. It brought
to the fore the necessity of a broader, more effective campaign
to address college readiness and academic preparation.
The lack of college readiness for so many community college
students has its origin, of course, in a K-12 system that
fails students in countless ways. But short of reforming that
system from root to branch, a more targeted set of improvements
could make a substantial difference.
To resolve learning deficits at the high school level, all
high schools must offer curricula for training students with
sufficient skills and knowledge to succeed in college. To do
that, the country urgently needs a standard, national definition
of college readiness. The Common Core State Standards,
a 2010 educational initiative detailing what K-12 students
should know in English and math at the end of every
The average community
college receives half or less
revenue per student than
the average four-year state
college, and far less than
elite private universities.
They simply don't have
the money they need for
counselors or administrative
support staff to coordinate
curriculum with high schools.
school grade, as a means for spurring high, standardized academic
benchmarks, must now be integrated more closely with
college course work. This would contribute to greater curricular
continuity, aligning more closely what students would
leave high school knowing with college learning expectations.
In Washington State, for example, high school and community
college teachers have jointly used the Common Core
standards to identify learning goals and assemble courses.
The state's Bridge to College class in English draws from the
Southern Regional Education Board's Literacy Ready class,
materials created by New York State, and California State University's
expository writing course. Nevertheless, definitions
of college readiness vary by state, and not every state has adopted
or implemented the Common Core standards.
Following the example of a handful of successful programs,
additional initiatives in the junior year of high school
could further align curricula and match student progression.
40 September/October 2022
In Long Beach, California, the Early Assessment Program has
measured college readiness among 11th graders to allow students
time to improve their skills in courses jointly designed
by district and postsecondary faculty. Long Beach City College
has accepted the courses for placement. To adapt writing
instruction to better meet college expectations, Philadelphia
high schools have partnered with college writing instructors.
On behalf of the New York City school system, the
community-based organization LINCT to Success has had
high school seniors take City University of New York placement
tests and used the results in individualized learning
plans. Faculty at CUNY have also developed the At Home in
College program. Its English and math transition courses have
made a limited difference in course passage rates in college. It
is not enough for states to eliminate remedial courses. Students
like Linda and Rod need to enter college prepared with
the academic skills to succeed there.
At the college level, while isolated efforts have helped
some students succeed in remedial courses, several clear areas
for further reform persist. One successful model for accelerated
and integrated reading and English composition,
for example, developed at Chabot College in California by
Katie Hern, has entailed a single-semester, four-hour English
composition course that combines reading development
with composition while also training students in critical
thinking and college expectations. Participants have demonstrated
a nearly 25 percent greater likelihood of completing
college-level English courses. Remedial learning initiatives
must integrate research and theory on culturally responsive
teaching, inclusive instruction, adult learning theory, and
cognitive psychology to improve student learning outcomes.
Currently, most of those teaching college-level remedial
courses have adjunct faculty status. Substituting full-time
faculty would enable access to institutional orientations and
training and more support for this critical type of teaching.
Incoming students must also receive more detailed counseling
on how colleges use placement test scores and how the
scores impact students' college trajectories.
Whether in remedial classes or not, underprepared
community college students desperately need more and
better counseling and guidance to navigate the complicated
choices they face. That means colleges must address preparedness
more broadly, beyond explicitly remedial courses,
with efforts to help at-risk students continue throughout
their education. Right now, the onus is entirely on the
student to navigate through their institution. They're given
a remedial class, but the college offers little or no help beyond
that.
If students are to remain enrolled and graduate, they
must make a series of good choices following remediation
and navigate other forces threatening to undermine their
progress. Linda, for example, passed several remedial courses
but did not understand the credit loss entailed and therefore
failed to establish a plan for recouping those credits on an acceptable
schedule.
Washington Monthly - September/October 2022

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