Comparison of Success Rates in Basic Skills Math at the Los Angeles Community College District

About 50 percent of first time community college students have basic skills needs in Math and English (Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, 2000). There is considerable debate on the effects and benefits of remediation in community colleges. Proponents argue that it enables poorly prepared high school students to attain the necessary preparation to succeed in college. Critics contend that the benefits of remediation are not clear given that there is also evidence that students who were placed in remediation but who took college credit courses passed these courses. The main objective of this study is to describe the course success rates of students who are placed in different levels of developmental math. The findings of this study are relevant for institutional researchers, community college administrators, and policy makers. The
study will shed some light in terms of potential discrepancies in success rates according to placement level (i.e., the course success rates of students placed in 1 level below transfer courses might be much higher than those placed in 3 levels below college). The findings might suggest that community colleges need to revise their placement policies, to redesign curriculum, and/or to provide more professional development to instructors.