A few years ago, the state of Florida declared that all new high school graduates were college-ready by definition, so they couldn’t be required to take remedial classes. For a year or so afterward, there were some articles detailing the measures that colleges were taking to prepare. Then, relative silence.
So, a question for my wise and worldly readers, many of whom are deeper into the literature than I am, and some of whom work in Florida: Did it work?
Of course, that question implies some subquestions. Did more students make it to graduation? If so, did they do as well upon subsequent transfer? How many students took remedial courses anyway? Did the change lead racial achievement gaps to grow, shrink, or remain the same?
What was the impact on the colleges?
What was the biggest surprise?
I’m asking because the “ah, the hell with it” option for remediation has a surface simplicity to it, and a large state has run a multi-year experiment doing exactly that. It seems a shame not to have some sort of meaningful report out.
So, folks who know Florida better than I do...did it work?
