RE: [MATHEDCC] developmental vs. remedial

Lindsey, Dr. Charles (clindsey@FGCU.EDU)
Wed, 24 Mar 1999 13:16:13 -0500

My memory may be faulty, but wasn't there a proposal in Idaho a few years
back to make students complete remedial education through adult ed programs
at the high schools? Of course, that forces the public school system to pick
up the cost rather than the college system. I suspect that something similar
may be at work here in your carefully worded definitions. It probably boils
down in the end to some obscure statute that specifies that party X has to
pay for "remedial" education and party Y has to pay for "developmental"
education. If you can say that a course is "developmental" according to the
definition below then it's not (entirely) making up for the failings of the
public school system, and therefore the Board that runs the public schools
shouldn't have to pay.

Sounds cynical but I'd be willing to bet real money that that's the driving
force.

Chuck Lindsey, Ph.D. clindsey@fgcu.edu
Director of General Education
Associate Professor and Program Leader, Mathematics
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Blvd South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565
Phone: (941) 590-7168 FAX: (941) 590-7200
http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/clindsey

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Laura Bracken [SMTP:bracken@LCSC.EDU]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 1999 12:16 PM
> To: mathedcc@archives.math.utk.edu
> Subject: [MATHEDCC] developmental vs. remedial
>
> Our state board of education has proposed a policy which has a distinction
> between developmental and remedial education as follows:
>
> "It is worth noting that what the general public refers to as "remedial
> education" is often also defined as "developmental education" by the
> academic community. The State Board of Education believes that a
> distinction can be made between the two terms.
>
> A. Developmental education (review courses) is aimed at developing the
> diverse talents of students, both academic and non-academic. It is
> designed to develop strengths as well as to review previous curricular
> areas of students who have not been involved in postsecondary education
> for
> some time. Developmental education implies improvement (i.e. review) of a
> student's skills and knowledge deemed necessary to enter a particular
> course of study or program in order to ensure a greater likelihood of
> success.
>
> B. Remedial education, for purposes of this policy, is defined as a
> duplication of a secondary program/course and support services in basic
> academic skills. Remediation usually involves recent high school
> graduates
> or those students who did not complete their secondary curriculum.
> Further, these students have little probability of success without first
> developing special skills and knowledge through remedial course work."
>
> Is anyone familiar with any other states who make this distinction? What
> arguments would you use to support that all review courses should be
> considered under the umbrella of "introductory college mathematics" as
> done
> by AMATYC? What value is there in making these distinctions?
>
> --Laura
>
> ____________________________________________________________________
> Laura Bracken bracken@lcsc.edu
>
> Division of Natural Science and Mathematics Office: 208-799-2484
> Lewis-Clark State College Fax:
> 208-799-2064
> 500 8th Avenue
> Lewiston, ID 83501
> _____________________________________________________________________
>
>
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