College Readiness from High Schools for Students Placed in Remedial English

1. College Readiness from High Schools for Students Placed in Remedial English Deborah Davis

2. QUESTION? • Are students entering Shawnee State and placed in Developmental English classes expecting placement in non-development classes? • Does placement in Developmental English class dampen their enthusiasm for the freshmen college experience? • Can we change things?

3. What is the problem? • Depending on the source, 30-40% or more high school graduate students require remedial English at college. • “For most students, news of their shortcomings is a shock.” • Remedial placement is highly associated with an increased risk of dropping out of college.

4. Literature says . . .Readiness? • Conley – “readiness is “the degree to which previous educational and personal experiences have equipped them for the expectations and demands they will encounter in college” • Cline, Katsinas, & Bush -- “a seamless system that improves articulation and degree completion, and that promotes a positive trajectory from our nation’s secondary schools into higher education”

5. Literature says . . . Gap? • Olson - students drawn from the top third of high school graduates, among whom “47 percent” were identified as needing remedial English instruction. • Carey - “despite their high-school diplomas, they lack basic skills in reading and math.” • Jacobson -- Successful work in college level courses depends on good high school preparation.

6. Literature says . . . What? • Olson - those who need the help, as evaluated at the end of eleventh grade, can get it in grade 12, using a program “developed jointly by high school teachers and CSU faculty members.” • Brock - the solution is at the college level. He presents an idea to “remake remedial education so that greater numbers of students acquire basic skills and go on to earn college degrees.”

7. Literature says . . . • As George (2010) reminds us, “It is one thing to help clarify the process through which the material in the course is mastered, and it is another to personally compel the student to comply with that process” (p. 85). • Brock points out a flaw in the image of the educational pipeline, detailing the myriad of twists, turns, and obstructions which can detour a swiftly flowing river.

8. So what? • In Ohio, 41% of high school students take remedial coursework • The “rigorous expectations (i.e., academic standards)” include four year of English! • “The College Readiness Expectations define what students need to know and be able to do before they begin their first college level course in English” Ohio Board of Regents

9. Research Question/Hypothesis • Are students entering Shawnee State and placed in Developmental English classes expecting placement in non-development classes? • Does placement in Developmental English class dampen their enthusiasm for the freshmen college experience? • Students anticipating college who are assigned placement to developmental English classes thought they were prepared to attend non-developmental English.

10. Impact of this information • In this area, Scioto County, students come to Shawnee State with enthusiasm to start their college careers. It is my hope that the information gained from this research will help those students maintain that enthusiasm by either knowing they are headed for developmental English, or precluding that assignment by meeting those needs earlier.

11. Survey says? • Survey of M.Ed Cohort on readiness among local students • Survey of incoming SSU freshmen placed in ENGL0095/0096 • No permissions needed

12. Timeline • July – Approval • August – Survey • September – Data Analysis • October – Draft Thesis Project Paper • November – Review Project • January-April – Prepare and Present

13. QUESTIONS?