Johnny can't read; Jenny can't do math-- but they're going to college

From the AP's Justin Pope (hat tip: C-J), a report on the cost of remedial classes at universities...

It's a tough lesson for millions of students just now arriving on campus: Even if you have a high school diploma, you may not be ready for college.

In fact, a new study calculates, one-third of American college students have to enroll in remedial classes. The bill to colleges and taxpayers for trying to bring them up to speed on material they were supposed to learn in high school comes to between $2.3 billion and $2.9 billion annually....

Analyzing federal data, the report estimates 43 percent of community college students require remedial classes, as do 29 percent of students at public four-year universities, with higher numbers in some places....

Simply dumping the remedial students into large classes isn't necessarily expensive for colleges, although it's also not very effective. But smaller classes typically require more attention and money. Some states have refused to fund remedial courses at the university level. In California, Oakley said, state funding for community colleges favors credit courses. Remediation (or "basic skills" as he and many educators call it) is typically noncredit....

There's a lot to say here...

-First, it points to the relatively low quality of the education provided by many government-run schools. Although splintered families is probably the number one cause of declining education, trusting most elementary and secondary education to government-run entities with tremendous monopoly power-- is not the wisest choice.

-Second, I've seen a good bit of this at IUS-- in part, because we're a "liberal admissions" university, but more broadly, presumably as part of a larger trend.

-Third, it's a mixed bag for universities-- and depends on funding sources. It distracts from mission, but it often brings in revenue.

-Fourth, it clearly costs taxpayers a lot of money. Not only do they pay out the nose for government-run elementary and secondary education, then they get to finance tremendously subsidized college tuition as well.

-Fifth and finally, it's just a shame-- on so many levels...