Community Colleges and Remediation

Nearly two out of every three (62 percent) beginning postsecondary students who took remedial courses were at community colleges.  In total, one-fourth of all beginning community college students take at least one remedial course in their first year.

The distribution of beginning community college students who took remedial courses was fairly even across household income quartiles (about one quarter of the students from each quartile took remedial courses).  In contrast, at four-year public institutions, 22 percent of beginning students in the lowest income quartile took remedial courses compared to only 12 percent of students in the highest income quartile.

­--All figures cited are CCRC calculations from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study 1996-2001.