At community colleges across the Midwest, institutions are using technology platforms and corequisite teaching to dramatically alter the narrative about remedial courses.
Traditionally, students who are not ready to enter a college level course are required to take a remedial, or developmental course in math, English, or both if needed. According to a 2018 study by the Lumina Foundation, about 50% of students at two-year institutions needed to take a remedial course. But students who take developmental classes are also less likely to graduate. For those earning a two-year associate’s degree, only 9.5% graduated in three years, 4.4 percentage points less than those who did not take remedial courses.
