Scott City graduates have lowest rate for needing remedial college classes

When it comes to preparing students for college, Scott City School District is No. 1, at least by one important measurement.

Scott City students posted the lowest incident rate in Missouri for having to take remedial college courses, according to data from the Missouri Coordinating Board of Higher Education. In 2009, 3.7 percent of Scott City graduates in the study had to take catch-up courses in math, English and other subjects, compared to a state average remediation rate of 37.3 percent.

For a school district that has lagged behind in several state and federal educational standards, the college preparedness distinction is reason to celebrate.

"Congratulations to EVERYONE involved in this major success, and thank you for all the hard work you do to make Scott City a great place to learn!" read a post on the Scott City School District website.

Scott City superintendent Diann Bradshaw-Ulmer likened the distinction to winning a state championship in a sport. She said the district of some 950 students, including 350 high schoolers, plans to celebrate accordingly.

But officials from the Missouri Department of Higher Education caution against overexuberance.

Damon Ferlazzo, research associate for the department, said the results have caveats. Most critically, the remedial course incident rates only include students the department could identify from Missouri public secondary schools who are enrolled in public colleges and universities. That means the thousands of high school graduates who enroll in private institutions or out-of-state colleges and universities are not included in the data. Nor are private high school graduates who enroll in Missouri institutions of higher education.

"Finally, some public universities do not technically offer remedial courses though they may offer courses below the 'first level of college.' These include the highly selective (Truman State University) and selective institutions (Missouri State University and The University of Missouri system institutions)," Ferlazzo wrote to a St. Louis area real estate agent who wanted to include the information to help market his community.

He said the data should not be used "as a sole criteria" for rating high schools because of the gaps, nor does the data identify or list public high schools as "best" or "worst."

"We would not endorse any kind of ranking because there are so many caveats," said Higher Education spokeswoman Kathy Love.

Based on the data, four Southeast Missouri school districts would rank in the top 10 in the state for students with the lowest rates of course remediation among districts where at least 25 graduates went to college.

Jackson School District's rate, 5.39 percent, would be fourth on the list. Cape Girardeau School District posted an 8.62 percent rate, which would be seventh on the list. The Scott County School District had a 9.09 percent rate, eighth "best" in the state.

Making improvements

The school districts did see vast improvements. In 2008, 32.5 percent of Scott City High School graduates had to take a remedial course, and in 2006 the rate was 58 percent, according to the Department of Higher Education. Jackson High's incident rate was 27.2 percent in 2008, and Cape Girardeau Central High School posted a 29.2 percent rate in 2008.

Despite the data gaps, educators say having a low rate of students in need of remedial courses is a measure of academic success.

Rita Fisher, Jackson School District assistant superintendent, said college preparedness begins with curriculum and a commitment to high expectations.

Mike Cowan, principal at Cape Girardeau Central High School, agrees. Regardless of the caveats, Cowan said he still feels good about the school's position compared to the 500-plus public schools statewide.

"We can say our kids are not requiring as much remediation as you would find across the board in the state," he said.

Playing catch-up

The real issue, Love said, is that more than one-third of Missouri college students tracked in the data have to take some catch-up course. It's another obstacle, and for some a significant obstacle, on the path to graduation.

And it's a problem that is only getting worse, according to the Department of Higher Education. Fourteen years ago, 26 percent of Missouri students tracked needed remediation before entering college-level courses.

Scott City's Bradshaw-Ulmer said the high school's upward movement in preparing college students speaks to the strides the district is making in academic improvement.

The district has failed to meet math and communication arts proficiency standards in state adequate yearly progress measurements over the past four years, but it has at times seen improvement.

"We have a strong dedication to education among our students, parents, teachers and administrators," she said. "We have really worked to move ourselves up the ladder, and that's been a cooperative effort."

mkittle@semissourian.com

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