Navigating Remedial Education in College
Explore how remedial classes affect college success and discover modern strategies to boost student outcomes and completion rates.
Remedial education, often called developmental education, serves as a bridge for students needing to strengthen foundational skills in math, reading, or writing before tackling credit-bearing college courses. Up to 60% of incoming freshmen may require such support, highlighting a widespread gap in high school preparation. While intended to build readiness, traditional models have faced criticism for delaying progress and reducing completion rates. Recent reforms, however, show promise in accelerating student success.
Understanding the Foundations of Remedial Placement
Placement into remedial courses typically occurs through standardized tests, high school GPA, or multiple measures assessments (MMA). These tools aim to identify students below college-ready thresholds. Around three-quarters of colleges employ MMA, combining test scores with GPA for more nuanced decisions. Yet, research reveals inconsistencies: students bumped up to college-level courses via MMA were 9 percentage points more likely to pass than those assigned to remediation.
Traditional prerequisite remediation requires completing non-credit remedial sequences before gateway courses like College Algebra or English Composition. This gatekeeping approach affects nearly 30% of remedial takers who fail their first course, disproportionately impacting underrepresented groups. Female and White students pass at higher rates, while Black students face higher failure rates, exacerbating equity gaps.
Demographic Realities and Equity Challenges
Remedial education disproportionately burdens low-income students, students of color, and those from under-resourced high schools. Only 11% of African American students placed in remedial math or English complete gateway courses within two years, compared to higher rates for other groups. This placement adds time and cost, perpetuating achievement gaps rather than closing them.
- Key Demographics: Underrepresented minorities and first-generation students are overplaced into remediation.
- Impact: Long sequences deter persistence, with pass rates below 50% in community colleges.[10]
- Equity Issue: Corequisite models triple gateway completion rates in a quarter of the time, benefiting diverse learners.
At two-year colleges, even students who fail remediation graduate with bachelor’s degrees at higher rates than non-remedial peers, suggesting access matters. Four-year starters who pass see an 8 percentage point bachelor’s completion boost, but failures face a 26-point drop.
Traditional Remediation: Outcomes and Limitations
Conventional remedial paths often lead to prolonged enrollment without guaranteed success. Students failing remedial courses take longer to graduate—if they do at all—and show lower labor market outcomes. About two-thirds of campuses gatekeep credit courses until remediation ends, stalling momentum.
| Remediation Outcome | Two-Year College Bachelor’s Rate | Four-Year College Bachelor’s Rate |
|---|---|---|
| No Remediation | Baseline | Baseline |
| Passed Remediation | +9 pp (two-year starters) | +8 pp |
| Failed Remediation | Still higher than baseline | -26 pp |
Note: pp = percentage points, adjusted for demographics and background.
Research confirms remediation rarely boosts long-term metrics like persistence or transfer rates, even if gateway passage improves short-term. This underscores the need for reform.
Corequisite Remediation: A Game-Changing Shift
Corequisite models enroll students directly in college-level gateway courses with concurrent support, bypassing lengthy prerequisites. Students just below cutoffs in corequisite setups pass gateways up to 18 percentage points more than prerequisite peers. This approach yields outcomes similar to direct placement, without added drag.
In community colleges, corequisite students showed 76% higher gateway completion, though some studies note slight dropout increases (4.3 pp). Effects vary: strongest in math for higher-scoring students, English for lower-scoring ones. Corequisite statistics consistently boosts enrollment and performance.
- Advantages: Faster progress, triple pass rates, reduced equity gaps.
- Evidence: Consistent across CUNY, Texas experiments.
- Caveat: No long-term degree gains yet; gateway success alone insufficient.
Multiple Measures and Direct Placement Strategies
MMA systems outperform test-only placement. “Bump-up” students (MMA to college-level vs. test to remedial) earned 2 more credits and were 1.5 pp more likely to degree/transfer. Conversely, MMA-down placements underperform, affirming direct access as key.
States are rethinking remediation amid evidence it doesn’t build college-level skills effectively. Some skip it entirely for marginal students, prioritizing momentum.
Institutional Variations and Student Success Factors
Outcomes differ by institution type. Two-year entrants benefit more from remediation completion, as transfer paths already extend timelines. Four-year students face steeper penalties for failure. Pre-college skills predict success: passers average 50th percentile ASVAB and 2.88 GPA; failers lag.
Passing remediation correlates with graduation across sectors, but time-to-degree rises. Reforms emphasize advising integration and targeted support.
Strategies for Students in Remedial Pathways
To thrive, students should:
- Seek Corequisite Options: Advocate for concurrent support enrollment.
- Leverage MMA: Submit strong high school records to avoid overplacement.
- Utilize Resources: Tutoring, advising, study groups enhance pass rates.
- Monitor Progress: Early intervention prevents failure cascades.
- Plan Transfers: Two-year starters eye bachelor’s pathways early.
Institutions scaling corequisites at Minority Serving Institutions report equity gains.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is remedial education?
Non-credit courses building math, reading, or writing skills for college readiness.
Do remedial courses count toward a degree?
No, they are prerequisites; corequisites allow credit-bearing progress simultaneously.
Are corequisite models better than traditional remediation?
Yes, with up to 18 pp higher gateway pass rates and faster completion.
Who typically needs remediation?
Up to 60% of freshmen, especially underrepresented and low-income students.
Can I test out of remediation?
Many schools allow retakes or MMA for placement adjustments.
Future Directions in Remedial Reform
As evidence mounts, states push corequisite adoption, K-12 alignments, and direct enrollment. Long-term studies are needed to confirm degree impacts, but gateway momentum builds equity. Students entering today benefit from these evidence-based shifts, shortening paths to credentials.
References
- Rethinking remedial programs to promote college student success — Brookings Institution. 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/rethinking-remedial-programs-to-promote-college-student-success/
- Study Provides More Evidence for Expanding Access — Postsecondary Readiness. 2024. https://postsecondaryreadiness.org/study-provides-more-evidence-expanding-access/
- Failing at Remediation? College Remedial Coursetaking, Failure — PMC/NCBI. 2021-03-15. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7967031/
- Is the new way to remediate community college students working? — Fordham Institute. 2024. https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/new-way-remediate-community-college-students-working
- Study: Skipping Dev Ed Increases Student Success — Inside Higher Ed. 2025-01-28. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/academic-life/2025/01/28/skipping-remedial-courses-impacts-students-completion
- Remedial Education’s Role in Perpetuating Achievement Gaps — Complete College America. 2023. https://completecollege.org/news/remedial-educations-role-in-perpetuating-achievement-gaps/
- Remedial Education — Center for American Progress. 2012-10-21. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/remedial-education/
Similar Articles
Read full bio of Sneha Tete
