Not read for prime time, er, uh, College

This is true in many states, not just Texas. This is from the Houston Chronicle:

Many in college lack basic skills

For Texas, it's a $200 million-a-year problem

By JEANNIE KEVER

It has been the dirty little secret of higher education for decades: Tens of thousands of college students can't do the work.

Developmental education — reteaching basic skills in reading, writing and math — is a $200 million-a-year problem in Texas, funded by taxpayers, colleges and the students themselves. Private groups also spend millions of dollars on the issue.

But relatively few students who need the classes go on to earn a degree, raising questions about whether money spent on developmental education is a wise investment.

“It's all about efficiency,” said Jim Pinkard, a program director at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “What are we sending all these kids to college for?  Read it all.

This has been one of my soapbox issues for decades.  As the wife of a retired professor I know the statistics show that probably 30% of the students in Louisiana were not ready for college, and they never would be. Remedial courses in reading and math were necessary.  And by that time they were dropping out anyway when they encountered the real college courses. 

I think a good bit of it was that everyone was told they should, and could, go to college whether they really were able to or not. A good bit of it also was the more students they had  enrolled the more money the colleges and universities get from the state. And the tuition money paid in isn't peanuts.  I do not believe Texas and Louisiana are the only states where this is happening. Let's say all 50?  I would like to think it was otherwise, but I don't. This is a huge waste of kid's time, parents money, and our tax dollars.