School Bell Is Ringing . . . Does Anybody Hear It? : CSU freshman English and math scores sound a new alarm

Just when it looked as if things could not get worse, newly released statistics show that about half the freshmen entering California State University’s 22-campus system do not have the skills to do college-level work in English and math. At two Los Angeles-area campuses, the numbers are even more staggering--eight of 10 incoming students failed the English exam at Cal State L.A. and the math test at Cal State Dominguez Hills. If this doesn’t wake up state educators, what will?

Less than a decade ago, California high school graduates were assumed to have the academic skills necessary to attend the state’s universities. The state Master Plan for Higher Education specified that seniors graduating in the top 12.5% of their classes qualified to attend UC. The top 33% was eligible for Cal State. Many of the reminder chose community colleges or trade schools.

In 1989, however, Cal State noticed what proved to be a disturbing trend: In that year, 42.1% of freshmen failed the incoming English test and 28% were not prepared for college math. The situation was alarming then, and it has worsened since.

By 1994, 49% of Cal State entrants lacked necessary English skills, while 54% couldn’t meet the basic math requirement. These statistics mirror a national development, one so bad that 43% of businesses had to offer remedial training in 1995, reteaching reading, writing and arithmetic, according to Training Magazine. That’s more than double the percentage of a decade ago.

Last July, Cal State officials moved to deal with the problem on a swim-or-sink basis, putting the state’s K-12 schools on notice that CSU intended to phase out remedial education by 2001 and thereafter deny admission to students who lacked sufficient skills. Eventually, CSU trustees opted for compromise, declaring the system would work with K-12 schools to develop performance standards with the goal of reducing remedial help to 10% of the entering class by 2007.

CSU Chancellor Barry Munitz has argued that the more patient approach toward remedial education is warranted. Time is needed to help students from elementary school forward. The CSU goal is not to eliminate remedial programs but to eliminate the need for them, he says. That objective can be achieved only through “a close alliance between CSU and K-12,” the chancellor maintains.

Munitz’s sentiments are admirable. And no one can dispute that he has worked tirelessly to build a broad consensus in higher education at a time when issues like the UC Board of Regents’ debate on affirmative action seem to be tearing the UC system apart. But the fact remains that a four-year college is not the appropriate place for remedial education.

State and local boards of education, not Cal State, are responsible for ensuring the integrity of the K-12 system. One that requires certain basic skills. One that accurately measures those skills. And one that sends to the colleges students who are primed and prepared.

By softening its stand on admissions, Cal State is failing to push K-12 educators toward excellence. It also is failing to encourage high achievement by students, and ultimately is diminishing the value of a CSU degree.