Table 270.

Percentage of first-year undergraduate students who took remedial education courses, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2003-04 and 2007-08

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected student or institution characteristic	2003-04 first-year undergraduates1																				2007-08 first-year undergraduates1,2
	Percent who ever took a remedial course		Percent who took remedial courses in 2003-04																		Number of students (in thou-sands)	Percent who ever took a remedial course		Number who took a course in 2007-08 (in thou-sands)	Percent who took remedial courses in 2007-08
			Any course			English			Mathematics			Reading			Studying			Writing							Any courses			1 course			2 courses			3 or more courses
1	2		3			4			5			6			7			8			9	10		11	12			13			14			15
Total	34.7	(0.37)	19.1		(0.29)	5.7		(0.22)	14.6		(0.26)	5.5		(0.17)	2.3		(0.10)	6.9		(0.18)	8,738	36.1	(0.38)	1,743	19.9		(0.35)	9.2		(0.23)	6.4		(0.19)	4.3		(0.18)
Sex
Male	32.9	(0.52)	18.3		(0.45)	5.5		(0.30)	13.9		(0.41)	5.2		(0.22)	2.2		(0.15)	6.6		(0.27)	3,797	33.0	(0.53)	730	19.2		(0.50)	8.8		(0.35)	6.6		(0.28)	3.8		(0.22)
Female	36.0	(0.55)	19.7		(0.39)	5.8		(0.23)	15.0		(0.33)	5.8		(0.24)	2.4		(0.15)	7.1		(0.26)	4,941	38.6	(0.51)	1,013	20.5		(0.46)	9.6		(0.32)	6.2		(0.24)	4.7		(0.24)
Race/ethnicity of student
White	31.7	(0.42)	17.7		(0.35)	4.9		(0.21)	13.5		(0.32)	4.4		(0.18)	2.2		(0.14)	6.4		(0.22)	4,980	31.3	(0.46)	881	17.7		(0.41)	8.7		(0.30)	5.3		(0.24)	3.7		(0.21)
Black	41.2	(0.99)	22.4		(0.76)	7.5		(0.52)	17.1		(0.66)	7.8		(0.49)	2.9		(0.26)	6.9		(0.44)	1,467	45.1	(0.99)	359	24.4		(0.86)	11.4		(0.65)	7.5		(0.45)	5.5		(0.53)
Hispanic	37.5	(0.92)	20.9		(0.69)	6.4		(0.52)	16.5		(0.63)	6.9		(0.49)	2.4		(0.25)	8.1		(0.48)	1,440	42.7	(1.08)	325	22.5		(0.78)	9.3		(0.51)	8.5		(0.48)	4.8		(0.40)
Asian	39.6	(1.72)	17.6		(1.56)	8.2		(1.09)	10.9		(1.19)	7.0		(0.83)	1.8		(0.48)	8.4		(0.93)	464	38.9	(2.05)	93	20.0		(1.90)	7.2		(1.25)	7.5		(0.96)	5.3		(0.87)
Pacific Islander	40.8	(5.11)	22.4		(4.55)	10.2	!	(4.18)	19.8		(4.64)	10.1	!	(4.07)	‡		(†)	11.3	!	(4.00)	69	39.9	(4.63)	13	19.1		(3.90)	7.1	!	(2.16)	9.9	!	(3.11)	2.1	!	(0.84)
American Indian/Alaska    Native	44.8	(4.33)	23.6		(3.10)	3.4		(0.99)	17.3		(2.79)	8.4		(2.28)	3.9	!	(1.53)	8.0		(2.35)	82	48.0	(4.65)	24	29.6		(3.87)	11.8		(2.06)	9.4		(2.21)	8.5		(2.34)
Two or more races	33.9	(2.01)	20.8		(1.80)	4.7		(0.90)	14.8		(1.48)	4.9		(0.98)	1.9		(0.48)	6.5		(1.12)	209	32.3	(2.29)	43	20.4		(2.06)	11.7		(1.47)	5.4		(1.07)	3.3		(0.78)
Other	31.1	(2.78)	17.2		(2.34)	5.0		(1.35)	14.3		(2.12)	6.1		(1.30)	2.7	!	(0.86)	6.9		(1.63)	27	35.2	(6.00)	6	21.7		(5.11)	7.6	!	(3.74)	8.2	!	(2.56)	‡		(†)
Age
15 to 23	33.6	(0.41)	21.3		(0.38)	6.5		(0.28)	16.0		(0.34)	6.4		(0.22)	2.5		(0.13)	8.2		(0.22)	5,247	34.5	(0.46)	1,152	22.0		(0.42)	10.0		(0.33)	7.4		(0.24)	4.6		(0.21)
24 to 29	34.9	(1.02)	15.9		(0.78)	4.3		(0.40)	12.8		(0.65)	4.0		(0.40)	2.1		(0.27)	5.0		(0.55)	1,460	39.5	(0.96)	282	19.3		(0.86)	9.0		(0.65)	6.0		(0.49)	4.4		(0.46)
30 or older	37.4	(0.86)	15.6		(0.51)	4.5		(0.35)	12.1		(0.51)	4.4		(0.32)	2.1		(0.21)	4.6		(0.31)	2,032	37.9	(0.83)	309	15.2		(0.67)	7.4		(0.45)	4.2		(0.32)	3.6		(0.36)
Attendance status
Exclusively full-time	31.3	(0.46)	19.0		(0.37)	5.7		(0.22)	14.0		(0.35)	5.6		(0.22)	2.6		(0.15)	7.5		(0.23)	4,145	31.4	(0.53)	799	19.3		(0.45)	8.6		(0.30)	6.2		(0.30)	4.5		(0.22)
Exclusively part-time	37.4	(0.65)	17.9		(0.51)	5.3		(0.31)	14.0		(0.46)	5.0		(0.28)	2.0		(0.16)	5.6		(0.28)	3,583	39.8	(0.70)	679	18.9		(0.59)	9.3		(0.35)	5.8		(0.34)	3.9		(0.30)
Mixed full- and part-time	40.9	(0.96)	23.5		(0.84)	7.1		(0.56)	18.6		(0.79)	7.1		(0.47)	2.1		(0.25)	8.3		(0.45)	1,011	42.5	(0.98)	265	26.2		(0.93)	11.6		(0.61)	9.4		(0.52)	5.3		(0.48)
Student housing status
On-campus	24.5	(0.70)	16.8		(0.56)	4.8		(0.30)	11.3		(0.49)	4.8		(0.31)	2.4		(0.27)	8.2		(0.40)	1,021	23.2	(0.84)	175	17.1		(0.76)	8.8		(0.60)	5.1		(0.41)	3.2		(0.30)
Off-campus	35.8	(0.59)	16.9		(0.40)	5.1		(0.30)	13.3		(0.35)	4.6		(0.22)	2.3		(0.15)	5.5		(0.28)	4,588	37.2	(0.57)	813	17.7		(0.48)	8.4		(0.32)	5.3		(0.25)	4.0		(0.26)
With parents or relatives	37.6	(0.60)	24.2		(0.59)	7.1		(0.37)	18.3		(0.52)	7.6		(0.35)	2.5		(0.20)	8.6		(0.36)	2,578	39.4	(0.77)	643	24.9		(0.64)	10.8		(0.48)	8.8		(0.41)	5.3		(0.35)
Attended more than one    institution	36.5	(1.18)	18.3		(0.99)	6.4		(0.58)	14.5		(0.98)	5.0		(0.48)	2.2		(0.32)	6.3		(0.48)	552	36.1	(1.13)	112	20.3		(0.99)	9.6		(0.74)	6.4		(0.50)	4.3		(0.43)
Dependency status
Dependent	33.3	(0.45)	21.9		(0.40)	6.6		(0.27)	16.3		(0.35)	6.5		(0.24)	2.5		(0.14)	8.6		(0.23)	4,466	34.3	(0.50)	1,016	22.8		(0.46)	10.3		(0.36)	7.5		(0.26)	4.9		(0.24)
Independent	36.3	(0.62)	16.1		(0.39)	4.8		(0.27)	12.7		(0.37)	4.5		(0.23)	2.2		(0.15)	5.0		(0.27)	4,272	38.0	(0.59)	727	17.0		(0.50)	8.1		(0.33)	5.2		(0.29)	3.7		(0.25)
Veteran status
Veteran	35.8	(2.32)	13.2		(1.52)	1.9		(0.51)	9.8		(1.40)	3.1		(0.68)	1.1	!	(0.33)	4.3		(0.84)	286	35.9	(2.37)	49	17.1		(2.09)	10.9		(1.57)	3.7		(0.85)	2.5	!	(1.26)
Not veteran	34.7	(0.39)	19.3		(0.30)	5.8		(0.22)	14.7		(0.27)	5.6		(0.18)	2.4		(0.11)	6.9		(0.18)	8,452	36.1	(0.38)	1,694	20.0		(0.35)	9.2		(0.23)	6.5		(0.19)	4.4		(0.18)
Field of study
Business/management	36.3	(0.98)	19.5		(0.95)	5.5		(0.41)	14.6		(0.99)	6.0		(0.44)	2.3		(0.35)	7.3		(0.60)	1,202	37.0	(1.13)	260	21.6		(1.04)	10.2		(0.67)	6.4		(0.57)	5.1		(0.60)
Computer science	33.7	(1.59)	19.1		(1.37)	4.7		(0.66)	14.6		(1.26)	5.3		(0.82)	2.1		(0.46)	5.6		(0.73)	321	34.4	(2.25)	63	19.6		(1.74)	8.6		(1.25)	6.8		(1.22)	4.1		(0.76)
Education	41.1	(1.58)	22.9		(1.13)	6.3		(0.74)	17.4		(1.0)	6.3		(0.72)	2.0		(0.42)	8.7		(0.86)	372	40.5	(1.91)	85	22.9		(1.48)	10.5		(1.13)	7.1		(0.75)	5.2		(0.84)
Engineering	30.3	(1.81)	16.2		(1.42)	5.4		(0.79)	12.7		(1.25)	4.7		(0.76)	2.4		(0.56)	6.6		(0.91)	388	33.2	(1.77)	73	18.9		(1.55)	8.4		(1.36)	6.3		(0.88)	4.2		(0.75)
Health	36.9	(0.82)	19.6		(0.67)	6.1		(0.48)	15.4		(0.62)	5.7		(0.43)	2.7		(0.26)	6.2		(0.49)	1,489	38.3	(0.94)	279	18.8		(0.83)	8.8		(0.64)	5.5		(0.46)	4.5		(0.44)
Humanities	34.1	(1.28)	18.9		(0.94)	5.7		(0.46)	14.3		(0.88)	5.0		(0.52)	1.7		(0.23)	7.3		(0.52)	1,408	38.5	(0.95)	320	22.7		(0.85)	10.5		(0.58)	7.6		(0.55)	4.7		(0.43)
Life sciences	31.1	(1.82)	19.6		(1.71)	5.7		(1.26)	14.5		(1.47)	5.4		(1.21)	2.7		(0.65)	8.0		(1.20)	299	31.2	(1.91)	62	20.6		(1.74)	9.9		(1.22)	7.2		(1.14)	3.5		(0.60)
Mathematics	23.0	(5.55)	11.0	!	(4.43)	‡		(†)	9.3	!	(4.26)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	28	40.8	(6.22)	‡	15.4	!	(5.13)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Physical sciences	23.7	(4.35)	12.8		(3.45)	7.4	!	(2.82)	5.2	!	(2.11)	6.3	!	(3.02)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	45	24.2	(4.43)	‡	14.7		(3.72)	6.7	!	(2.26)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Social/behavioral sciences	33.2	(2.06)	19.3		(1.57)	5.5		(0.90)	14.5		(1.38)	6.5		(1.0)	2.6		(0.54)	8.6		(1.04)	281	35.2	(2.17)	66	23.5		(1.95)	12.7		(1.66)	6.3		(0.88)	4.6		(0.82)
Vocational/technical	38.4	(2.09)	18.3		(1.59)	5.0		(0.85)	14.4		(1.39)	5.6		(1.0)	2.2		(0.46)	4.7		(0.60)	297	31.4	(1.90)	47	15.8		(1.73)	6.8		(1.15)	5.9		(0.97)	3.1		(0.65)
Undeclared	33.5	(0.67)	19.2		(0.58)	5.9		(0.37)	14.4		(0.49)	5.1		(0.33)	2.5		(0.20)	7.2		(0.37)	1,032	35.6	(1.27)	204	19.8		(1.13)	8.9		(0.66)	6.7		(0.69)	4.2		(0.50)
Other	33.2	(1.51)	17.9		(1.07)	5.2		(0.67)	13.6		(0.95)	6.1		(0.56)	2.4		(0.34)	5.8		(0.56)	919	34.6	(1.20)	168	18.3		(0.96)	8.2		(0.74)	5.9		(0.59)	4.2		(0.50)
Type of institution
Public less-than-2-year	30.6	(1.85)	10.9		(1.09)	4.8		(0.80)	9.4		(1.05)	4.0		(0.86)	1.4	!	(0.58)	3.9		(0.90)	86	31.9	(1.99)	8	9.0		(0.89)	4.6		(1.05)	0.6	!	(0.24)	3.8		(0.65)
Public 2-year	41.4	(0.59)	23.0		(0.47)	6.9		(0.33)	18.3		(0.42)	7.1		(0.28)	2.4		(0.15)	7.2		(0.27)	4,921	41.8	(0.54)	1,165	23.7		(0.48)	10.7		(0.33)	7.9		(0.28)	5.1		(0.26)
Public 4-year nondoctorate	34.1	(1.75)	21.3		(1.11)	5.3		(0.60)	16.3		(1.04)	5.2		(0.55)	1.9		(0.28)	8.5		(0.62)	663	38.9	(1.23)	169	25.4		(1.12)	12.0		(0.76)	8.9		(0.63)	4.5		(0.56)
Public 4-year doctorate	25.7	(1.11)	16.3		(0.63)	4.4		(0.34)	11.6		(0.60)	3.9		(0.39)	2.6		(0.27)	8.1		(0.42)	794	25.0	(1.03)	141	17.8		(0.85)	10.4		(0.66)	4.7		(0.41)	2.7		(0.31)
Private nonprofit less-      than-4-year	30.8	(1.87)	12.6		(1.69)	4.2		(0.93)	10.1		(1.33)	2.7		(0.71)	2.3	!	(0.73)	4.8		(1.14)	53	32.6	(3.07)	6	10.6		(2.37)	4.6		(1.28)	1.7	!	(0.66)	4.3		(0.93)
Private nonprofit 4-year      nondoctorate	25.7	(1.19)	14.4		(0.81)	5.2		(0.70)	9.4		(0.56)	3.9		(0.42)	2.0		(0.29)	6.7		(0.79)	398	25.9	(1.73)	65	16.4		(1.43)	6.9		(1.04)	5.3		(0.73)	4.2		(0.67)
Private nonprofit 4-year      doctorate	18.4	(1.64)	11.7		(1.37)	2.5		(0.53)	7.5		(1.34)	2.9		(0.56)	2.2	!	(0.67)	6.3		(0.90)	302	22.7	(1.63)	40	13.1		(1.34)	6.9		(1.07)	3.6		(0.64)	2.7		(0.48)
Private for-profit      less-than-2-year	24.1	(0.48)	7.8		(0.23)	3.1		(0.18)	4.7		(0.16)	2.2		(0.19)	2.3		(0.12)	3.5		(0.22)	388	26.6	(0.95)	22	5.7		(0.47)	2.2		(0.35)	1.4		(0.24)	2.1		(0.23)
Private for-profit 2 years      or more	25.3	(1.63)	11.7		(1.04)	4.1		(0.50)	7.5		(0.75)	3.3		(0.45)	2.7		(0.39)	4.9		(0.70)	1,134	28.8	(1.42)	129	11.3		(1.16)	5.0		(0.81)	2.8		(0.69)	3.5		(0.63)

†Not applicable.

!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.

1 Student status was determined by accumulation of credits. Students attending postsecondary education part time, or not completing the credit accumulation requirements for second-year status, could be considered first-year students for more than one year.

2 Data have been revised from previously published figures.

NOTE: Data are based on a sample survey of students who enrolled at any time during the school year. Data include Puerto Rico. Detail may not sum to totals because of survey item nonresponse and rounding. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003-04 and 2007-08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04 and NPSAS:08). (This table was prepared July 2013.)