As community colleges assume a more central role in the nation’s higher education landscape, the question of how prepared graduating high school students are is increasingly important. Some states are trying to improve the quality of, and change the way students think about, remedial education.
It’s orientation week at North Shore Community College in Lynn, Massachusetts. On this hot and humid afternoon, students pack into air-conditioned classrooms. Orientation leaders cover the gamut from financial aid to maximizing your college experience.
“Being well-rounded socially, academically, physically, mentally, psychologically, all of that makes a difference in terms of who you are as an overall person, inside and out,” says one of the orientation leader as she discusses ways to get involved.
Many of these students, though, aren’t worried about what they’ll be doing outside the classroom. They’re thinking, instead, about getting an associate’s degree, without wasting time or money. But a lot of them are forced to enroll in courses that won’t give them any credit at all.
Natalia Pagan-Saurez is in that boat. The 17-year-old earned good grades in high school, but she’ll be taking remedial math this fall.
“I’ve never felt like I’ve been caught up with math. I always felt like I was missing something, like everyone knew something I didn’t know,” says Pagan-Saurez.
