Remediation rates rise slightly in Colorado

The percentage of Colorado high school graduates needing remedial classes once they enroll in college ticked upward in 2014-15, a setback after years of steadily declining remediation rates.

According to data released Friday by the Colorado Department of Higher Education, 35.4 percent of graduates needed remedial coursework, up from 34.2 percent the previous year.

The annual report also spotlighted continued longstanding gaps based on race. At two-year institutions, 82 percent of black students and almost 70 percent of Hispanic students required remediation. The figures for those racial groups at four-year institutions were 52.5 percent and 39 percent, respectively.

“The goal here is to increase the number of residents in Colorado with a high-quality, postsecondary credential,” Timothy Flanagan, chief student success and academic affairs officer at the Colorado Department of Higher Education, said in a statement. “The good news is that of the students needing remediation, more than 62 percent complete their remedial course.”

For more on this subject, read this story from the Chalkbeat archives about catching students up without remediation.

Read the full report from the department here.