The Alliance for Excellent Education found that the nation loses more than $3.7 billion annually due to the large number of high school graduates unprepared to succeed in college and the workforce. The cost is due to students having to pay for remedial courses that typically do not count towards a degree. Further costs include the additional resources and services colleges must provide their remedial students and lost wages and tax revenue from the decrease in earnings potential of students who fail to complete a postsecondary degree.
Overview
Title: Paying Double: Inadequate High Schools and Community College Remediation
Author: Alliance for Excellent Education
Research methods: Quantitative
Publisher: Alliance for Excellent Education. AEE is a national, non-profit organization whose stated mission is “to promote high school transformation to make it possible for every child to graduate prepared for postsecondary education and success in life.”
Peer reviewed: No
Funder: The Metlife Foundation
Released: August 2006
The study: According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, there is not only an economic cost to the nation when students do not complete high school, there is also a price to pay when students graduate without the knowledge and skill necessary to succeed in college or the workplace. This study aims to put a dollar amount on what it costs the nation when high school graduates require remediation for skills they should have mastered in high school.
Link to full report:
www.all4ed.org/publications/remediation.pdf [PDF] |
The Findings
Almost one-third of all college freshman enroll in remedial courses:
- 42 percent of community college freshman enroll in at least one remedial course
- 20 percent of freshman in four-year postsecondary institutions enroll in at least one remedial course.
- One-third of community college freshman who enroll in remedial courses are 19 or younger.
$3.7 billion is lost annually due to high school graduates unprepared for college or the workforce.
- $1.4 billion is spent to provide remedial education to students who have recently graduated high school.
- Students pay more in tuition since most remedial course credits do not count towards their degree.
- Colleges pay for the salaries of professors to teach remedial courses.
- Colleges provide classrooms for remedial courses that could otherwise be used for more advanced courses.
- The economy loses $2.3 billion dollars in reduced earning potential of students who leave school without a degree.
- 83 percent of students who enroll in a reading remediation course fail to complete a four-year degree within eight years.
- These individuals earn approximately $20,000 less per year in wages than those with four-year degrees.
- The decrease in wages means less tax revenue is collected.
- Costs that were unable to be included in the estimate
- Remediation for students in public and private four-year institutions.
- Remediation for students age 25 and older
- Cost to employers to provide training programs to their employees without basic skills.
- Cost to employers to buy technology to overcome their employee’s lack of basic skills.
- Cost of government/nonprofit programs that provide training in areas that are typically learned in high school.
Recommendations
Provide a rigorous high school curriculum that prepares students for college and the workplace
- 4 years of college preparatory English
- 3 years of college preparatory:
- Math
- Science
- Social Studies
- Provide statewide performance standards for college admissions to let students, parents and teachers know what students need to know to be prepared for college. Both West Virginia and Florida, for example, have seen a long-term decline in students needing remediation after implementing such a policy.
Caveats
Some caution should be taken when interpreting the projected costs based on lost earnings, which are based on the assumption that wage rates will remain the same as more students earn four-year degrees. It’s possible that an increase in the supply of workers with four-year degrees would have some effect on wages but that effect is unclear.
Conclusion
The Alliance for Excellence in Education asserts that the goal of high schools is not just ensuring all students receive a diploma; it is equally important for the diploma to represent that the student has acquired the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in college and the workplace. They argue that the high incidence of entering college freshmen who require remediation could be significantly reduced if high school students took a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum and having statewide performance standards to make clear to students what they need to know to succeed in college.
Communities concerned about the preparation of their high school graduates can take several actions. First, they should look at their data to determine what percent of their high school graduates enroll in remedial courses in college. They should then determine if those students are taking the courses they need to succeed in college and if not, find out why. District officials should also look at the alignment between their default, or recommended, high school curriculum and the minimum admission requirements to state postsecondary institutions, so that students can be sure they will be prepared to do the work when they arrive on campus.
