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Digest of Education Statistics
2012 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


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.)

2012 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest