I rite pretty goode, got a B

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ARE MANY COLLEGE STUDENTS unprepared for college? Well, don’t even get me started. I teach at a college in an affluent town known for its excellent public schools, but few of my students write at the college level.

They often seem to feel otherwise, however. I'll explain their weaknesses as writers, but students will often shoot back with, "But I got a B!"

I teach at a community college where just about anybody can enroll. (I understand they're awarding degrees to dogs now.) The State University system, however, only accepts students from the top third of High School graduates. Impressive. Surely, entering CSU students can write!

Well, no, many of them cannot write, and recent efforts to raise the proportion who can don’t seem to be working.

So explains a report in today’s San Jose Mercury: Unprepared freshmen pervade CSU system:

Nearly half of the first-time freshmen admitted to San Jose State University last fall were not prepared for college English and one-third were not prepared for college math, according to new data presented Tuesday during a meeting of the California State University Board of Trustees.

…On average, 45 percent of CSU freshmen needed a remedial course in English and 37 percent needed a course in math before progressing to college-level material. The report offers disappointing evidence that high school-based efforts to boost the college-readiness of California's young people are still falling short.

"The problem is not yet solved," concludes the report, presented by Gary W. Reichard, CSU's executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer.

The CSU trustees aimed to have 74 to 78 percent of incoming freshmen ready for college by fall 2004—and 90 percent ready by fall 2008.

This dream now seems unachievable, the report concludes, because the proportion of prepared students has stayed stable for four years.

"There is no realistic likelihood of achieving the trustees' 90 percent readiness goals in both subjects by fall 2008," the report concludes.

…The report found that 49.3 percent of SJSU students needed remedial English classes and 33.4 percent needed remedial math classes….

…CSU accepts all students who have scored in the top third of their high school class and have at least a B average.

But these students are not necessarily ready for CSU-caliber work, said Elizabeth Chavarin, 23, who took one semester of remedial math and English courses after graduation from San Jose's William C. Overfelt High School before going on to complete her bachelor's degree in public relations.

"You still need to prepare yourself for college-level material," she said. "Just because you pass the high school exit exam doesn't mean you're at college level.

…Students have 15 months to pass these remedial courses. If not, they can study at the community college level and then return to CSU.

For students who don't master the remedial material within two years, most quit higher education. Students sent back to community colleges rarely re-enter the CSUs, the report found….