A revolution will take place in teaching English and math in California community colleges and state universities during the next 12 months – the most radical instructional change I’ve seen in half a century.
Driving this change is Assembly Bill 705 and California State University executive order 1110. They will impact change when and how college students are placed and taught in university-level English and math courses. The goal is to enable more students to complete gateway courses and ultimately to graduate.
Having been an English instructor and academic administrator in a community college, I have 45 years of perspective. The new directives put most incoming college students directly into university-level math and English courses. Few, if any, remedial courses will be required.
Few people not directly involved in collegiate education know of this shift, but almost everyone connected with community colleges and state universities are aware of its impact.
Students will have the opportunity to choose from two math pathways – one with an emphasis on statistics, the other with a foundation in algebra. In English, practically all students will be able to go directly into university-level writing courses.
This approach follows what several other states have done, all with remarkable success. Students who once needed two to four semesters to complete university-level math and English have now completed them in one semester.
Coupled with this instructional acceleration is a new approach to placement. In the past, prospective students took standardized, multiple-choice assessments (tests); based on the results, they were placed in what was considered an appropriate English or math course.
Now, students are placed based primarily on their high school grades, and assessments are no longer required. This change was made after research showed high school grades were a better predictor of success than standardized tests.
I’ve followed this shift over the last few months, especially in the subject I used to teach, English. Some California community colleges have already implemented this approach and have found remarkable success.
To achieve similar success, other California colleges will have to restructure curriculum and instructional techniques while providing a wide spectrum of support services. Some colleges will develop courses attached to the main writing course to help students improve proficiency even as they taking the main course.
At many colleges, tutors will be embedded or reading and writing labs will help them go beyond coursework. Some colleges will “stretch” university level English over two semesters.
Community colleges across the state are trying to decide which of these methods will work best for their students.
It will take a monumental cultural shift to make this work. Instructors and advisers will need to emphasize what students are capable of, not what they’re deficient in. Then their expectations will have be elevated.
Counselors will need to help students enroll in appropriate courses. More English courses will have to be scheduled. English instructors will need to participate in more professional development so they can create approaches to teaching and learning different from what they have been using for many years.
Professionals who work in student support services will need to give more help to students having problems with financial aid or personal issues. Students who don’t pass a university-level English course the first time will need to be encouraged to retake it the following semester. Students whose first language isn’t English will need additional academic support.
When I first heard of this new accelerated approach, I was amazed. Having taught English, including remedial English, for more than two decades I operated under the assumption that students who had gaps in their English skills had to progress step by step, semester by semester, until they were ready for transfer-level English composition.
But research in the last few years has proved my intuition false, and I’m glad.
These changes will mean more college students in California, including those at my local community college campus, will complete English requirements more quickly and have a much better chance to graduate sooner and move forward with their lives.
John Spevak is a resident of Los Banos; he wrote this for the Los Banos Enterprise. Email john.spevak@gmail.com.