Cal State Freshmen in Southland Lack Skills

More than two-thirds of students entering Cal State campuses in the Los Angeles area lacked the math or English skills they should have mastered in high school, according to new figures released Thursday.

The new campus-by-campus figures offer a dismaying view of the lack of preparation for college work at many of the system’s schools, particularly those in urban areas.

Equally striking were other statistics released by the university system showing that, at some high schools, not a single graduate going on to one of Cal State’s campuses passed the basic skills tests. And officials said the number of students needing remediation actually is higher than the new statistics show--because 10% of the freshmen were not tested.

“This ought to be a wake-up call for everybody in California,” said Charles B. Reed, the new chancellor of the Cal State system, which has 344,000 students. “We are not doing a very good job of educating our youth.”

The largest percentages needing help were at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where eight out of 10 freshmen who enrolled last fall needed remedial instruction in English, and 87% needed remedial work in math.

At Cal State L.A., three out of four freshmen needed remedial classes in math and English. At Cal State Northridge, two out of three were not fully ready for college work.

At Cal State Long Beach and Cal Poly Pomona, the percentages of students needing remedial work were lower than elsewhere in the county. But even at those schools, a majority of students needed remedial English, and at Long Beach 59% needed remedial math.

Cal State officials had released figures earlier this month for the entire 22-campus system showing that a record 54% of entering freshmen needed remedial math and 47% needed remedial English.

The new campus-by-campus figures were released at the request of The Times.

Starting in the fall, Cal State will require all freshmen to take both the Entry Level Math and English Placement Test before they begin classes, meaning even more will probably be sent for remedial training.

“We know that the numbers will jump higher in 1998,” said Allison Jones, Cal State’s senior director of academic affairs.

Cal State is hardly alone in finding that many of its students are not fully ready for college work. A 1995 survey found that 78% of American colleges and universities, including many of the top private schools, offered remedial courses.

About 35% of freshmen entering the University of California do so poorly on its “Subject A” English proficiency test that they must receive additional instruction during their first year.

And at the City University of New York--where Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has called for privatizing remedial functions--63% of the freshmen at four-year campuses and 86% in community colleges fail at least one of the university’s placement tests in reading, writing or math.

As shocking as the numbers may seem, education experts say it is difficult to determine whether students are more poorly prepared for college, or whether places such as Cal State are simply testing more thoroughly to find those in need of remediation.

Rhondia Morris, a freshman at Cal State Dominguez Hills, complained Thursday that the placement tests are unfair and “too hard.” She now is in a remedial English class that is “a waste of time,” she said. “I’m not learning anything new. I’m just getting the credit and getting out.”

But Cal State officials, and many students, find it hard to shrug off the fact that so many freshmen who were supposed to be among the top third of California high school graduates--a criterion for admission--could not pass the rather routine tests asking them to explain the meaning of words or paragraphs or to do basic algebra and geometry.

“I was in Advanced Placement English and honors English throughout high school and got to college and didn’t do very well on the entry test,” said another Dominguez Hills student, Jamel Shakir.

“My high school did the best job that it could, and I put in a lot of effort as well. But in the process, some things do get glazed over. And that’s why it is good to have remedial classes in college.”

Claudia Gomez, struggling with remedial algebra at Cal State Fullerton, was harder on her high school preparation.

“What the schools need to know is that there are a lot of kids just getting by in high school,” she said. “I was one of them. The high schools are not strict enough.”

At some Cal State campuses, though, most incoming students passed both tests or were exempted from them because of high scores on other exams, such as the SATs or Advanced Placement tests.

At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, freshmen were the best prepared, with 19% needing remedial math and 17% placed in remedial English. That the popular San Luis Obispo campus had the best record is not surprising because, unlike its sister schools, it actually turns away qualified students.

Other Cal State campuses generally take all comers, provided they meet minimum requirements.

It’s also not surprising that Cal State Dominguez Hills was on the bottom of the list, said Boice Bowman, the school’s vice president for student affairs, given that it draws many students from low-income parts of communities such as Compton, Lynwood, Hawthorne and South Gate.

Compton High School was one of the high schools whose graduates struggled with Cal State’s freshmen placement exams. All 20 of its graduates now enrolled in the system failed the math test, and 89% failed the English test.

“These are capable students, but they didn’t get all of the preparation needed,” Bowman said. “A large part of our mission is to serve inner-city schools and provide these students with opportunity to be successful in their lives. If we don’t allow them to come, then we have done a disservice to our community.”

Hoping to reduce the share of freshmen needing remedial courses to 10% by 2007, Cal State has launched an ambitious effort to improve its teacher-training programs, which supply nearly 60% of California’s teachers. Cal State officials also are sending thousands of their college students into the K-12 public schools as English and math tutors.

The university this week turned up the heat on individual high schools by putting the placement test scores of each school’s graduates on its World Wide Web site (www.asd.calstate.edu/performance). The figures show that even at some well-regarded high schools, many graduates require remedial courses.

Seeking to shift the remedial work to high schools, Cal State and UC officials have signed a contract with the Educational Testing Service--which administers the SATs and other exams--to devise a “diagnostic” test that, beginning in the spring of 1999, will measure the English skills of high schoolers in their junior years.

“You’ll know in 11th grade what skills you lack for college and you can then get that education in the 12th grade,” said Jones, Cal State’s senior director of academic affairs.

Cal State officials are also moving to prevent any community college transfer students from arriving at Cal State in need of remedial classes.

Times staff writer Tina Nguyen contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Unprepared for College

Freshmen at Cal State campuses each year are tested to determine if they have college-level English and math skills. The results influence whether they are placed in regular freshman classes or special remedial sections. The questions below are samples from the test. Answers are at the bottom.

*

Sample test

Reading Skills

(1) Last year the goal of the Red Cross was to provide area hospitals with 80 million pints of blood. This year the goal is to provide 100 million pints.

In relation to the first sentence, what does the second sentence do?

A) Gives a reason

B) Draws a conclusion

C) States a consequence

D) Makes a comparison

****

For each of the sentences, choose the best word or phrase to substitute for the underlined portion containing gliff , a nonsense word.

(2) Though Mr. Rivera is a gliff man and could life anywhere he chooses, he still lives in the small house he was born in.

A) a careful

B) a wealthy

C) an ambition

D) a strong

****

(3) The water looked fine for swimming, but in fact the currents in the river were gliff .

A) emphatic

B) soothing

C) treacherous

D) unnoticeable

****

Math Skills

(4) If the price of a fishing reel which originally sold for $35 was reduced by 25%, what is the new price?

A) $28.00

B) $26.25

C) $17.50

D) $8.75

E) $7.00

****

(5) 7/16 x 24 =

A) 21/2

B) 14/3

C) 13/12

D) 31/16

E) 7/384

****

(6) In the figure shown to the right BC//DE. What is the length of AC?

A) 4

B) 5

C) 6

D) 7

E) 8

****

Answers: 1. D; 2. B; 3. C; 4. B; 5. A; 6. E

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Campus by campus

A record percentage of first-time freshmen failed to pass Cal State’s entry-level math and English placement tests, requiring them to enroll in remedial classes.

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% needing % needing remedial remedial CSU campus English Math Bakersfield 48% 61% Chico 37% 59% Dominguez Hills 81% 87% Fresno 53% 67% Fullerton 49% 55% Hayward 55% 58% Humboldt 23% 48% Long Beach 54% 59% Los Angeles 76% 74% Maritime Academy 30% 40% Monterey Bay 48% 62% Northridge 62% 67% Cal Poly Pomona 54% 41% Sacramento 42% 55% San Bernardino 53% 69% San Diego 45% 56% San Francisco 40% 56% San Jose 52% 47% Cal Poly SLO 17% 19% San Marcos 47% 65% Sonoma 25% 52% Stanislaus 47% 56% CSU Average 47% 54%

*--*

Source: California State University

NOTE: Percentages based on number of students who took the tests or satisfied the requirement by showing proficiency through SAT, ACT or Advanced Placement test scores.