A Mixed Bag: Transition Courses May Help With Remediation Struggle
By Allie Bidwell, Communications Staff
Each year, students enroll in college only to find they are underprepared for the coursework ahead. As a way to potentially mitigate that problem, some states have implemented transition courses intended to better prepare and ease students into college-level English and math courses. But new research shows the courses might not have a strong impact on college preparedness.
A new paper from the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia, found that offering English and math transition courses may be "neutral to mildly beneficial and at least not harmful" to high school seniors. The authors — Madeline Joy Trimble, Lara Pheatt, Tatev Papikyan, and Elisabeth Barnett — studied the effectiveness of the At Home in College program in New York City.
When students enter college unprepared, they end up in remedial courses intended to bring them up to speed. But that move comes at a cost to both the student and the institution. Students lose out because they might spend more money taking courses that often don’t count toward earning a degree. More time in school means more money spent on tuition and other education-related expenses. The institutions, on the other hand, spend extra money to provide the courses.
According to the CCRC paper, remedial college education costs the nation $3.7 billion each year — about $1.4 billion for providing the remedial courses, and about $2.3 billion on the diminished earning potential for students who might drop out without earning a degree.
But now, according to the paper, transition courses are found in almost half of all states in the country. The New York City program studied in the paper also provides different support services outside of the academic preparation, such as a counselor-led unit on transitioning to college, scholarships to cover the CUNY application fee, help completing the FAFSA, and advisement during the summer before starting college.
Still, the results suggested "a mixed impact" of the program. In English, there was a small but statistically significant negative impact on college readiness, as determined by scores on standardized tests. In math, there was no statistically significant impact on college readiness. In English, there was no statistically significant impact on passing a gatekeeper English course, and in math, there was a small but statistically significant impact.
However, the data used includes students who were enrolled in a New York City high school that offered the courses, not necessarily those who participated in the courses. The authors also cautioned that the transition courses could displace other college preparatory courses offered as an alternative.
Because of this, they wrote, "it is important for policymakers and educators implementing transition courses to carefully consider the unintended consequences of removing students from alternative courses."
"If the alternative courses area already rigorous, well-taught, and packed with content that is useful for college success, the transformative impact of a transition course may be limited," they wrote.
Publication Date: 12/20/2017
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