Developmental Mathematics Revival!

Attacks on Access

Do high school students decide not to study hard because they know their local community college provides developmental classes?

You may have seen some articles (opinion, more than articles) about the use of Pell grants for developmental courses. Michael Petrilli wrote one recently, basically saying: If students knew that Pell grants would not cover developmental courses, they would study harder in high school to avoid that later economic problem. Fortunately, most articles like his are not well crafted, so that only those who already agree before they read it will agree with it when they are done reading it. (See http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-30/pell-grants-shouldn-t-pay-for-remedial-college.html)

We seem to live in an era of simple ‘solutions’ to complex problems.

In talking to my students, quite a few worked as hard as they could in high school. Sometimes, there is a learning challenge involved that remains undiagnosed. Other students describe situations in which the daily decisions are more about survival in the now than thoughtful consideration of the future; education is often the first casualty of both poverty and family disruptions. In more urban regions like mine, the high school environment is ‘challenging’; crime and safety compete with academics, and students often attend schools with a long history of problems.

We need to keep our voices raised for those who may not have a voice in the discussion at all — our students. Those attacking the use of financial aid for developmental courses often lack an understanding of the factors that result in students ending up in our courses.

It is true that we place too many students in developmental courses. It is also true that our curriculum needs some work. Attacks on access will not solve these problems.

Here is my simple solution for a complex problem: All politicians and policy makers must begin every speech with an articulate statement on the value of learning in their own lives; further, all politicians and policy makers must complete another degree (at least at the bachelor’s level) every 10 years at risk of losing their job.