Remedial education for NC high school graduates on the rise

The Democrats WANT to talk about education this campaign season.  They’ve dominated state government for decades.  They’ve thrown tons of money at our public schools.  How’s all that working out?  Terry Stoops with The John Locke Foundation fills us in:

Last year, I published a study of community college remediation rates from 2007 to 2010.  I now have the 2010-11 data, which reflects the percentage of 2010 high school graduates who were required to take at least one developmental/remedial course (in English, reading, or math) during the 2010-11 community college year.

2010-11: 65%

2009-10: 64%

2008-09: 60%

2007-08: 57%

Note that these percentages reflect incoming high school graduates only and not returning adults.

The above percentages include home and private schools.  When I removed nonpublic schools, as well as public schools that had fewer than five graduates, the percentage of students taking one or more remedial courses was nearly identical to the overall percentage.

Also be aware that Democrats controlled the General Assembly during the four-year span represented above.  Data for the 2011-12 school year will not be available for several months, so resist the urge to blame rising remediation rates on Republican legislators.

I teach in the community college system, and see a lot of this first-hand.  I’ve encountered plenty of recent high school graduates who struggle to read the text book or write a coherent, intelligible short essay.

Raleigh bureaucrats can keep piling on the red tape and throwing money at the situation.  They can keep sticking their heads in the sand like there isn’t a problem out there.   But it’s clear that what has been SOP in Raleigh for decades IS NOT WORKING.