Research has found that some students placed in these remedial math and English courses could have passed college-level versions.
The studies, which look at tens of thousands of students over several years, found that more than a quarter of those assigned to remedial classes based solely on standardized test scores could have passed college-level classes with a grade of B or better.
The studies, one of a large urban community college system and the other of a statewide system, found that more than a quarter of the students assigned to remedial classes based on their test scores could have passed college-level courses with a grade of B or higher.
The state will soon require every graduate to pass college preparatory Regents exams in English, math, social studies and science.
But of the 38 students — 39 percent of its graduating class — who went to CUNY last year, 75 percent could not pass the reading, math or writing exams CUNY uses to determine if freshmen can pass college classes.
A recent discussion on the Web site Quora about what it is like to have a photographic memory gives a taste: it's nice for passing college courses, but it also makes everything seem the same.
Because she has kept the flame of learning alive, Li is prepared to seize the opportunities that await; she passes college entrance exams and is one of the first students to be allowed to study in the West.
In the study, students with GPAs lower than 2.5 showed extremely little concern about their ability to pass college classes once admitted, their ability to "fit in" with other students, and how they would stack up intellectually with their peers.
Less than half of students placed one level below ever pass college level English.
