Reducing Post-Secondary Education Remediation

WHEREAS, high school graduates are often not academically prepared for college. Some estimates suggest that only about one-quarter of high school graduates complete a rigorous academic curriculum and while academic preparation is a problem for many students, it especially affects low-income and minority students; and

WHEREAS, many students who are underprepared in high school will need to enroll in remedial courses upon entering an institution of higher learning; and

WHEREAS, many institutions require students complete their remedial courses before they are allowed to enroll in college-level courses, a process that could mean more than a year of coursework prior to progressing to college-level material; and

WHEREAS, the Alliance for Excellent Education estimated that the cost of delivery of remediation nationwide totaled $1.4 billion in direct costs to students and institutions; and

WHEREAS, the need for post high school remediation is one symptom of the broader failure of systems to provide a high quality public education for all; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP Education Game Changer is that every child will receive a free, high quality, equitably funded, public pre-K and K-12 education followed by diverse opportunities for accessible, affordable vocational or university education; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAAACP) reaffirms prior resolutions calling for high quality public school education for all students, e.g., Support of Common Core State Standards (2013), Preserving the Federal Role in Safeguarding Education (2011), Promotion of High Standards for All Public Schools (2010), Low Performing Schools (2009) and Education Improvement (2008); and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that, the NAACP advocates for the creation of an Office of Ombudsmen in the U.S. Department of Education to receive and act upon general complaints and that the Office should be widely publicized.