Diploma to Nowhere

I found a story in the “American Teacher Magazine,” a publication printed by the American Federation of Teachers.  The article was called “College Cope With Rising Demand for Remedial Courses;” (www.edin08.com/diplomatonowhere.aspx) that gathered information from the “Diploma to Nowhere” report created by the Washington, D.C. Strong American Schools group.  The report states that more than “1.3 million college students are enrolled in remedial classes.”  The report further explained that remedial students comprise 43%  of the population in community colleges and 29% in four-year universities.  The problem with this rising trend is that the colleges/universities are jeopardizing their higher education funding because so many students have to take remedial courses.  The “Diploma to Nowhere” report indicated “2.3 to 2.9 billion dollars” comes from students enrolled in these classes.  Furthermore, the report lists other pitfalls from the increase of remedial college students; those factors are: 

1. “the negative relationship between enrolling in such classes and graduating from college”

2.  “59% of the students surveyed said that they felt high school was too easy and not challenging for them “

3.  “the student costs for remediation for community colleges is $2,000 and $2,500 at a four-year institution.

The report also list some recommendations that included collecting better data to do another updated report and creating better standards and goals between K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions.  The “Diploma to Nowhere” report also states “by 2014, more than half of all new job openings will require at least some college, and a quarter of the new position will demand at least a bachelor’s degree.”