The Cost of Remedial Education - Mackinac Center

The Cost of Remedial Education:
How Much Michigan Pays When Students Fail to Learn Basic Skills
Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Why Do So Many Students Require Remedial Education?
Some remedial education experts say social problems, beyond the reach of
elementary and secondary schools, account for the widespread lack of basic skills. George
Swan, Dean of Arts and Humanities at Wayne County Community College, says: “We cater
to students who lack the skills to compete for a variety of reasons—age, money, lack of
confidence. I can’t blame it on the public school system.” 25 Julianne Sisung of Kellogg
Community College attributes the extent of remedial education to the increasing diversity of
the population that goes to college: “It’s not the public school system’s [fault] . . . . The
Michigan public school system does a good job and prepares people well to compete at the
college level. It’s the diversity of students that has changed over the years. Students come
from a variety of backgrounds and ages. Many of these students were not college bound
before.” 26 Other experts place the blame squarely at the door of the public schools. They argue
that basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills are necessary for anyone who intends to
function in society, not just those who are college bound. Janet Detloff, chair of the Math
and Sciences Division at Wayne County Community College, is worth quoting at length:
The Detroit-area public schools are terrible. Most of the students who come to us not
only lack math and English skills, but they lack basic academic skills. They have no
idea what is expected of them at the college level. They don’t know how to take
notes. They don’t read the assigned material. And many of them don’t even come to
class. How did they get through high school without these skills? Many of them
were promoted for social reasons—they were getting too old; they had repeated the
grade three times; they would otherwise fail-out. So they graduate without the skills
they need to succeed, not only in academics, but in the workplace. Local employers
often find the same problems with their employees that we are addressing here—
truancy, lack of attention to detail, inability to complete tasks. I remember one
student who called me complaining that she had received an ‘F’ in a course even
though she had attended every day. She didn’t understand that she actually had to
master the basic course material. That was foreign to her. 27
“Ideally,
developmental
programs should
not exist at the
college level.
Public schools
should prepare
people to compete
at that level, but
they do not.”
Steve Carlson, chair of the Science and Mathematics Division at Kellogg Community
College, had a similar assessment: “Largely it’s the public schools’ [fault.] Ideally,
developmental programs should not exist at the college level. Public schools should prepare
people to compete at that level, but they do not.” 28
A number of remedial level educators identified specific failings of the public
schools. Katie Smith, director of Transitional Studies at Lake Michigan College, blames
high schools for failing to help students develop proper analytical skills:
25
26
27
28
Interview, February 28, 2000.
Interview, February 29, 2000.
Interview, March 3, 2000.
Interview, February 29, 2000.
September 2000 17