First Year Undergraduate Remedial Course Taking declined significantly from 1999–2000, but rose slightly from 2003–04 to 2007–08, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
At two-year public colleges, 30.4 percent of first-year students report taking remedial courses in 1999-2000. That fell to 23.4 percent in 2003-04 and ticked up to 24 percent in 2007-08.
Percent of 1st-Year Undergraduates Reporting Remedial Coursetaking, by Institution Type
| Institution Type | 1999-2000 | 2003-4 | 2007-8 |
| All institutions | 26.3% | 19.3% | 20.4% |
| Public 4-year | 25.0 | 18.2 | 21.0 |
| Public 2-year | 30.4 | 23.4 | 24.0 |
| Private 4-year | 16.2 | 13.3 | 15.1 |
| For-profit 2-year or more | 16.2 | 11.4 | 11.0 |
| Very selective | 13.3 | 11.7 | 12.8 |
| Moderately selective | 22.0 | 17.0 | 18.8 |
| Open admissions | 37.1 | 19.2 | 25.6 |
The report relied on self-reporting by students not transcripts, notes Inside Higher Ed.
The proportion of students in developmental courses declined from 1999-2000 to 2007-8 for every type of institution and student trait, with the biggest drops seen for for-profit and public two-year institutions, students in certificate programs, Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic students, and students in their mid-20s and older.
Students often don’t realize they’re in developmental courses, other research has shown. And those who drop out quickly aren’t around to be surveyed.
