Developmental education (also known as remedial education) serves as a major barrier to a disproportionate number of Black and Brown students in higher education.
More than 70 percent of Black students and 63 percent of Latino students at two-year institutions require some form of developmental education (DE). Four-year institutions fare only mildly better (likely due to selectivity), more than 50 percent of Black students and nearly 40 percent of Latino students require some form of DE.
Unfortunately, many of these students do not make it past their DE courses or the introductory courses needed to advance in college. This leaves many would-be college graduates financially burdened, psychologically discouraged and more often than not with diminished opportunities for professional mobility.
With less than desirable outcomes for students and a staggering $6.7 billion annual price tag, it comes as no surprise that many states and institutions of higher education are seeking solutions to better address DE issues. Over the past 30 years, state policies have either eliminated, reduced, or shifted where and how DE is offered. Many students of color have likely missed out or “stopped out” from higher education due to policies implemented in many states that address the prohibitive costs alone rather than the residual impact on students.
However, more recently the California Assembly’s Committee on Higher Education unanimously passed the AB 705 bill. This policy requires all community colleges to prioritize high school grades as an important indicator for placement.
Often students are required to take DE based on hard cut-off scores from standardized tests and placement tests. Through Bill AB 705, institutions still will consider those test scores but will weigh them less heavily in favor of high school grades, which will hold more weight than in times past.
This bill aims to reduce the burden of performing well on a test as the singular opportunity for students to get into credit-bearing courses (unless those students are highly unlikely to succeed in them). This policy may prove to be a step in the right direction toward attaining more equitable developmental education for all.
