DATE: Friday, September 12, 1997            TAG: 9709120610

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   54 lines

24% NOT READY FOR COLLEGE, REPORT SAYS 5,748 INCOMING FRESHMEN IN VIRGINIA NEEDED REMEDIAL CLASSES.

Nearly one in four public high school graduates entering state colleges in the fall of 1995 was not prepared for college-level work in math, English or reading, according to a report by the State Council of Higher Education.

The report released Thursday covers the 1995-96 academic year. It shows that 5,748 of 23,893 entering freshmen - slightly more than 24 percent - needed to take at least one remedial course in college. About 11 percent of private high school graduates needed a remedial course.

The statewide percentages are slightly better than the last report in 1994. Acting council director J. Michael Mullen said, ``I don't think anyone would jump up and down over the difference.''

SCHEV estimates that the state spends $24.7 million a year on remedial classes, said council spokesman Mike McDowell.

The SCHEV study looks only at students who went on to in-state public colleges and universities. It does not include any students who attended private or out-of-state colleges, which can skew the data depending on how many people in a high school class go to public colleges.

``A one-year shift can be due to any number of things,'' Johnston said.

The report also found:

More than 90 percent of remedial education takes place in community colleges, rather than at four-year schools. ``It's where it should be,'' Mullen said.

Just one in four freshmen, by the end of their first year, was on pace to graduate on time. But SCHEV officials caution that freshmen often take a lighter course load their first year and later make up needed courses.

More than 50 percent of private high school graduates, and roughly 47 percent of public school graduates, had a grade point average of 2.5 or better after their freshman year.

Roughly 85 percent of all freshmen enrolled in public colleges in the fall of 1995 were still enrolled in college that spring. ``I think that suggests that remediation is working,'' McDowell said.

Mullen said that while the study is a ``type of report card'' for schools, low scores on remedial education and other areas do not necessarily mean a school is not preparing its graduates - or that colleges have lowered their admission standards.

It may mean simply that more students in a high school class were not picking the best courses in high school to prepare for college, he said.

This is the fifth year that the council has issued the report. Mullen said he is currently crunching numbers for the 1996-97 school year and hopes to have another report ready this fall. He said he has ``absolutely no idea'' if the numbers will differ significantly from those in the 1995-96 report. KEYWORDS: REMEDIAL CLASS COLLEGES UNIVERSITY VIRGINIA

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