State Education Chief Wants More Rigorous Prep Study
Last updated Friday, August 17, 2007 7:02 PM CDT in News
By The Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas Education Commissioner Ken James says getting more state high school students to take a challenging set of high school classes will help state colleges retain and graduate students.
The more rigorous coursework would also reduce the number of students who need remedial classes when they get to college.
"One of the problems we've got across the state is simply the fact that we don't have a large portion of our kids in certain pockets of the state engaged in a rigorous course of study," James said Thursday. "They get to the point where they are going to take the ACT, they're going to score below 19, and they're going to qualify for remediation."
James spoke at an organizational meeting of the state Legislative Task Force on Higher Education Remediation, Retention and Graduation Rates. The panel is to make recommendations by the middle of next year so Gov. Mike Beebe can include suggestions in his budget for the coming biennium.
Arkansas is among states with the fewest college graduates; 19 percent of Arkansas residents older than 25 have graduated.
State Sen. Dave Bisbee, R-Rogers, said state colleges performing the best can be given greater funding.
Higher Education Department interim director Steve Floyd said Gov. Mike Beebe wants the department and the Higher Education Coordinating Board to develop recommendations on a new funding formula by next summer.
Students in Arkansas must take noncredit remedial courses in English, reading or math if they score below 19 in those subjects on the ACT. Some schools have tougher requirements, including the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, which requires a 20 or higher on the English and math sections for students to avoid remedial courses.
The ACT itself uses a score of 18 in English, 22 in math, 21 in reading and 24 in science as "College Readiness Benchmarks." Students at or above those levels are found to be 75 percent likely to earn a C or higher in a corresponding introductory college course.
James said raising the state's remediation standards would lead to more students in remedial courses.
"I'm not advocating that we need to raise the 19," James said. But he said the state must comprehend that ACT says higher scores are needed for college preparedness.
"A 19 is not really getting them prepared to do college-level work," James said.
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