The College Voice

A large portion of new
students entering Mercer
every semester are
placed into foundations level
reading, writing or
math courses by scoring
below a state-mandated
percentage on the Accuplacer
placement tests.
This year the number has
grown, as state-mandated
"cut scores" have been
raised.

Cut scores are
the minimum scores necessary
on the Accuplacer
tests in order for a student
to place into college-level
classes. Until last year,
colleges across the state
each had different standards.
Now the cut scores
are the same for all community
colleges, a change
that has resulted in more
students taking remedial
classes and "some really
skewed anomalies," according
to English Professor
and Reading Coordinator
Carol Friend.

According to Mercer's most recent Institutional Profile data,
which can be found online
at the New Jersey
Commission of Higher
Education website, in
2007, 57 percent of first year,
full-time students
were enrolled in one or
more remedial course,
and in 2008 that number
dropped to 54 percent.
The overall number of
students, including full time,
part-time, transfer
and returning students
that have to take at least
one remedial class has
been above 60 percent for
years. Although this year's
data has not yet been
tabulated, and there has
been an overall jump in
enrollment of 9 percent,
the change in cut scores
has clearly forced more
students than ever into
remedial classes.

In math, "the old
cut score was 60 percent.
That has gone to 76 percent
as part of the statewide
mandate," says Math
Professor and coordinator
of Foundations Math
Betty Peterson. She went
on to say, "This fall the
Math department had to
add 10 extra sections of
MAT 033 and 10 extra sections
of MAT 037 to keep
up with demand."

The English department
has experienced
an influx of foundations
students as well.
Although no formal action
is being taken, as yet,
"The English Department
is looking at assessing the
impact of the Accuplacer
scores on our curriculum,"
says the Chair of the
English Department, Professor
Frances Davidson.

Reading Coordinator
Professor Friend
is particularly concerned
with anomalies in the
writing test, WritePlacer.
The WritePlacer cut
scores are "much higher
than the reading score to
get into the same level,"
Friend says. This means
that a student who scores
into a college-level writing
class may only be
reading at a tenth grade
level.

Even NJ STARS
students, students who
graduated within the top
15 percent of their high
school classes, are now
placing into foundations
classes at Mercer at a rate
of 30 percent according
to Reginald Page, Director
of Financial Aid. "NJ
STARS is a scholarship
program exclusively for
New Jersey residents that
covers the cost of tuition
and approved fees at New
Jersey's 19 community
colleges," according to njstars.net.

"While a prospective
NJ STARS student does not lose
eligibility for the scholarship
if she is placed in a remedial
class, she must enroll at his own
cost," says English Professor Diane
Rizzo, the NJ STARS club
advisor at Mercer.
Prospective NJ
STARS students
must complete
and pass any
necessary remedial
classes within
one year in
order to apply to
get the NJ STARS
scholarship. "All
scholarships are deferred
until requirements are
met," says Rizzo.

While nearly all new
students to Mercer must take
the tests, "many students do
not understand the importance
of the Accuplacer test as it relates
to their course placement.
Many students take it without
any preparation whatsoever
and in less than ideal circumstances,"
says a study by professors
at Johns Hopkins University.

After taking the tests and
not reaching a state-mandated
score, students are often surprised
to find that they must
take remedial classes.

Faculty appear to be
deeply concerned not only that
students are coming to Mercer
underprepared for college-level
study but also because students
in these classes may be burning
through their financial aid
money. Further, remedial
courses
do not factor into
a student's GPA,
and a GPA is
needed for many
types of financial
aid and scholarship
awards.
Professor Friend says, "students
should be able
to challenge [their scores] or be
assessed differently." She goes
on to say that, "students need
to be assessed in more creative
ways."

Professor Friend's sentiments seem to be echoed by other faculty as well.

"Students need to be in the
right course for success," says
Professor Peterson. "If students
aren't placed properly, they
may end up leaving Mercer out
of frustration," Peterson adds.

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