Oklahoman Students Better Prepared for College

Monday, April 2nd 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahomans who entered the state's higher education system during the last school year were better prepared and took fewer remedial courses than the students before them, according to a report by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

The Annual Student Remediation Report shows that just over 37 percent of new college students in Oklahoma last year needed to take remedial courses, the smallest percentage in four years.

Students who score below a 19 on an ACT subject must either take a remedial class or undergo more testing in that area. Remedial classes are noncredit courses that cost a fee and often cause students to stay in school longer, officials said.

The study found fewer students scored below a 19 on the math, English, science and reading portions of the ACT. The largest drop occurred in math and English, which both fell more than 10 percentage points below 1994 levels.

Oklahoma's higher education Chancellor Hans Brisch said the report shows Oklahoma students are better prepared for college.

``We must continue to strengthen educational partnerships between higher education and public schools that will ultimately benefit students and enhance their success,'' he said.

The report showed that 58 percent of adult students had to take remedial classes, compared to 36 percent of students coming out of high school.

State Regents Chairman Leonard J. Eaton said Oklahoma has undertaken several initiatives since 1993 to help Oklahoma students be better prepared for college.

He noted an increase in the core curricular requirements for college admission and a planning and assessment system that tracks college preparations being made by students.