Fewer Colorado students need college catch-up classes

For the second year in a row, the number of Colorado students who enter college needing remedial classes dropped.

College remediation rates fell to 37 percent for the state’s high school class of 2012, down from a high of 41 percent in 2010. For the first time, that figure includes students who were graduating either early or late.

And the number of students who stayed in remedial courses — which historically have high dropout rates — rose as well, to 62 percent.

In a statement, state officials said that the drop was a result of new programs being rolled out to provide alternatives to remediation, including extra support for students who enter college behind and a major overhaul of the state’s community college system.

The academic subject with the highest number of students who needed help catching up was math, an area which has also proved a challenge for K-12 education.

Other highlights:

  • Students who qualified for federal free or reduced lunch programs, a measure of family poverty, were more likely to require remedial courses than their affluent peers (59 percent versus 31 percent)
  • There were gender gaps as well; 40 percent of female college students were not college ready, compared with 35 percent of male students.
  • Remedial courses cost the state and students roughly $56.1 million in tuition and support for institutions.

For more, the full report will be available here soon.