Remedial education is supposed to help underprepared college students get ready for a degree program.
But in a lot of cases, it's just not working.
Pima Community College, a hub for remedial education, is taking a hard look at how it can do better.
The school's open-enrollment policy means anyone can sign up for classes - whether they're ready for them or not. Pima gets students who didn't learn the basics in high school and older adults who need to re-learn.
About 20 percent of PCC students are in remedial classes.
"They're often stunned when they take the test and find they're really not ready to be a college freshman," said Chancellor Roy Flores.
The numbers
In a group of students taking basic remedial math - which starts with adding numbers and ends with equations like x+2=5 - almost half quit the class or get a "D" or "F."
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And only 4 percent to 6 percent of students in the lowest-level remedial math, reading or writing class go on to graduate.
"This is the reality of our community," Flores said.
This new data was part of a report to the PCC Faculty Senate recently.
PCC spends $22 million a year on remedial education.
What's new
PCC is shifting its focus from getting students into college to getting them through.
A new pilot program may help high school students before they need a remedial class in college.
PCC has stationed a "graduation coach" at Flowing Wells High School to teach study skills and test-taking strategies.
A lot of new PCC students lack study skills, said Harriet Borkan-Moses, a longtime adjunct math professor and private tutor.
In a remedial math class on Tuesday, she passed out homework and then spent 20 minutes on how to study. She gives students homework planners, study guides and homework games.
PCC is also studying which kinds of classes are effective, and for whom, because many students struggle in traditional classes.
"We know for certain that the traditional approach doesn't work because, guess what, they've had 12 years of it and it didn't work," Flores said.
What's next
If PCC is like an assembly line, so far it's been making a one-size-fits-all product.
"We have mass production and that's not working for us," Flores said. "What we need is customization."
In the future, PCC might diagnose a student's needs and choose lessons to fit, he said. Or a student's traits could be matched with the teaching method that's most likely to work for him or her.
In the future, grades might mean less and competency might mean more, in part because remedial credits don't count toward a degree.
And remedial math might be more connected with the end result students are expecting - a job. While the core principles of math don't change, Flores said, the examples and lessons can be adapted to fit a student's job-training goal.
Contact reporter Becky Pallack at bpallack@azstarnet.com or 807-8012.
