The percentage of freshmen requiring remedial courses hasincreased slightly compared to last year.
Last year, 35 percent of the 2001 freshman class took remedialmath and 33 percent took remedial English. This year, the numberswent up to 38 percent and 35 percent, respectively.
Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Ethan Singer saidthese numbers reflect the remediation needs of students
within the university’s service district.
“The principal reason was that the in-service area, which is theSan Diego County and Imperial County, students had a slight increasein the remediation need and that accounted for it,” Singer said. “Theouter service area students stayed the same.”
This is because non-resident students are held to higher admissionstandards than local students.
Although the numbers were a little upsetting, Singer said theincreases are not that significant.
“You’re going to see slight increases or decreases,” he said.”That would be normal from one year to next. We expect the numbers tobe significantly better next year.”
San Diego State’s averages are still lower when compared with theCalifornia State University’s 23 campuses. Last year, 46 percent ofadmitted freshmen were required to take combined remedial math andEnglish, up from 45 percent the previous year.
Singer said the university wants to get the numbers as low aspossible.
However, the university has limited control over the preparationof high school students in the in-service area who come to San DiegoState.
“The issue is what could be done in K-12 to ensure that studentsare better prepared,” he said.
Freshmen are required to take remedial math or English if they donot get a passing score on the English Placement Test or the EntryLevel Math Test. However, they can be exempt from taking the class bygetting a sufficient score on the SAT, ACT or Advance Placement Test.
Students are given their first three semesters to pass theremedial courses. If they do not pass their courses or pass the EPTor ELM they are administratively disqualified from the university.
Last year, 360 students were disqualified for failing to meet thisdeadline.
Some freshmen are unhappy with the current system because theyclaim only numbers on the test determines their placement, and notother factors such as high school courses and grade-point average.
Undeclared freshman Courteney Hearn had a 3.8 GPA in high schoolbut failed by one point on the ELM. She had to take remedial math.
“It was a waste of my time,” Hearn said. “I knew everything forit. Now I’m behind because the units don’t count. It’s frustratingbecause now I have to take summer school to catch up.”
But, Singer said, grades cannot determine everything.
“Grades are a helpful measure, but they are not a sufficientmeasure of achievement,” he said. “We’ve had students close to a 4.0whose SAT scores were maybe 500, which demonstrate they have a lot ofwork to do.”
Pre-business freshman Lindsey Moss was on the honor roll in highschool all four years, but had to take both remedial classes at SDSU.
She said the English course was also a waste of her time, but themath class gave her a good review of things she forgot.
She disagreed with the policy of not receiving any credits for herclass toward graduation.
“It’s not fair,” Moss said. “If I’m forced to take these classes,put in the time and do the homework just like any other class, then Ishould get credit for them.”
While some students may disagree with the policy of gettingadministratively disqualified after three semesters, publicadministration and urban studies freshman Debbie Carajan approves ofthe policy.
“I think that’s a great system because you don’t want people justhanging around and taking advantage of the system,” Carajan said.
A new policy, called dual admissions, will start next fall tolower the number of freshmen taking remedial math and English atSDSU. The lower 20 percent of the admitted students who showremediation needs will have to take the classes at community collegesto clear their remediation requirements before they attend SDSU. Theywill have a year to do this while retaining their admission status.
