The EdSource study, Course-taking patterns, policies, and practices in developmental education in the California Community Colleges, found that most students who took a remedial course in writing or mathematics began doing so during their first or second term of enrollment in a California community college. That said, sizeable proportions waited longer to get started.

The table below shows, for both writing and mathematics, that among students in the study's Fall 2002 first-time cohort who took a remedial course:

• The majority took their first remedial course during their first year of enrollment. More than half of students began during their first term (Fall 2002), and roughly another one in five students began during their second term (Spring 2003).
• However, depending on their starting levels, roughly 10%–12% of students delayed their first remedial course until their second regular academic year (Fall 2003 or Spring 2004). And another 9%–16% delayed until after their second year (beyond Spring 2004).

Across starting levels, most students who took a remedial course in writing or mathematics began doing so during their first year of enrollment.

 

 

Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Data: Student course enrollment records provided by CCC Chancellor’s Office Management Information System (COMIS) matched with course istings, descriptions, and prerequisites from the 2002–03 through 2008–09 course catalogs of the 107 semester-based community colleges in the study sample.

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