Table 311.40.

Percentage of first-year undergraduate students who reported taking remedial education courses, by selected student and institution characteristics: 2003-04, 2007-08, and 2011-12

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected student or institution characteristic	2003-04 first-year undergraduates1																	2007-08 first-year undergraduates1					2011-12 first-year undergraduates1
	Percent who took any remedial courses					Percent who took specific remedial courses in 2003-04												Percent who took any remedial courses					Total number of students (in thou-sands)	Students who took any remedial courses							Percent who took specific remedial courses in 2011-12
	Ever		In 2003-04			English			Mathematics			Reading			Writing			Ever		In 2007-08				Percent who ever took			Number who took in 2011-12 (in thousands)	Percent who took in 2011-12			English			Mathematics			Reading			Writing
1	2		3			4			5			6			7			8		9			10	11			12	13			14			15			16			17
Total	34.8	(0.36)	19.2		(0.30)	5.7		(0.21)	14.6		(0.26)	5.6		(0.17)	6.9		(0.18)	36.2	(0.38)	20.0		(0.35)	9,437	32.6		(0.42)	1,864	19.7		(0.36)	10.0		(0.25)	16.2		(0.34)	7.4		(0.23)	7.5		(0.25)
Sex
Male	33.0	(0.53)	18.4		(0.46)	5.6		(0.29)	13.9		(0.41)	5.2		(0.22)	6.6		(0.27)	33.0	(0.53)	19.3		(0.51)	4,079	30.8		(0.61)	811	19.9		(0.55)	10.4		(0.37)	16.0		(0.49)	7.2		(0.32)	7.6		(0.36)
Female	36.2	(0.54)	19.8		(0.39)	5.8		(0.23)	15.1		(0.34)	5.8		(0.24)	7.1		(0.26)	38.7	(0.51)	20.6		(0.46)	5,359	34.0		(0.52)	1,053	19.7		(0.46)	9.7		(0.35)	16.3		(0.43)	7.5		(0.29)	7.4		(0.26)
Race/ethnicity of student
White	31.7	(0.42)	17.8		(0.35)	4.9		(0.21)	13.5		(0.32)	4.4		(0.18)	6.4		(0.22)	31.3	(0.46)	17.7		(0.41)	4,997	29.4		(0.51)	885	17.7		(0.47)	8.1		(0.33)	14.7		(0.43)	5.8		(0.29)	6.3		(0.29)
Black	41.2	(1.00)	22.4		(0.76)	7.5		(0.52)	17.1		(0.66)	7.8		(0.49)	6.9		(0.44)	45.1	(0.99)	24.4		(0.86)	1,871	37.6		(0.89)	416	22.2		(0.75)	12.8		(0.54)	18.2		(0.72)	10.1		(0.53)	9.2		(0.55)
Hispanic	38.5	(0.91)	21.5		(0.72)	6.6		(0.52)	17.0		(0.66)	7.1		(0.48)	8.3		(0.47)	43.7	(1.12)	23.3		(0.84)	1,728	35.8		(0.99)	388	22.4		(0.81)	11.5		(0.56)	18.7		(0.76)	8.4		(0.46)	8.5		(0.48)
Asian	39.6	(1.72)	17.6		(1.56)	8.2		(1.09)	10.9		(1.19)	7.0		(0.83)	8.4		(0.93)	38.9	(2.05)	20.0		(1.90)	410	37.6		(2.25)	94	23.0		(1.75)	14.6		(1.53)	15.2		(1.19)	11.1		(1.57)	11.5		(1.52)
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)	39.9	(4.63)	19.1		(3.90)	46	33.4		(5.16)	7	15.2		(3.50)	9.6	!	(3.15)	11.9		(3.11)	4.2		(1.25)	5.5	!	(1.65)
American Indian/Alaska       Native	44.8	(4.34)	23.7		(3.10)	3.4		(1.0)	17.3		(2.80)	8.4		(2.28)	8.1		(2.35)	47.9	(4.66)	29.7		(3.88)	106	34.9		(4.11)	21	19.8		(2.79)	10.2		(2.03)	17.4		(2.79)	9.0		(2.03)	7.1		(1.71)
Two or more races	33.9	(2.02)	20.9		(1.80)	4.7		(0.90)	14.8		(1.48)	4.9		(0.98)	6.5		(1.12)	32.3	(2.29)	20.4		(2.06)	280	29.8		(2.02)	53	19.0		(1.68)	9.8		(1.56)	15.4		(1.58)	5.5		(1.01)	5.7		(0.91)
Other	31.1	(2.78)	17.3		(2.34)	5.0		(1.35)	14.3		(2.12)	6.1		(1.30)	6.9		(1.63)	35.2	(6.00)	21.7		(5.11)	—	—		(†)	—	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)	—		(†)
Age
15 to 23	33.7	(0.41)	21.5		(0.39)	6.6		(0.28)	16.1		(0.35)	6.4		(0.22)	8.2		(0.22)	34.5	(0.46)	22.0		(0.43)	5,549	31.0		(0.49)	1,169	21.1		(0.38)	10.6		(0.30)	17.3		(0.36)	7.6		(0.24)	7.7		(0.28)
24 to 29	35.0	(0.99)	16.0		(0.78)	4.3		(0.41)	12.8		(0.65)	4.0		(0.40)	5.0		(0.55)	39.7	(0.98)	19.5		(0.86)	1,618	34.4		(1.12)	278	17.2		(0.91)	8.3		(0.61)	14.2		(0.86)	6.4		(0.55)	6.4		(0.52)
30 or older	37.6	(0.87)	15.6		(0.52)	4.5		(0.35)	12.1		(0.51)	4.4		(0.32)	4.7		(0.31)	38.1	(0.84)	15.2		(0.68)	2,270	35.4		(0.94)	417	18.4		(0.82)	9.7		(0.53)	14.9		(0.73)	7.6		(0.57)	7.7		(0.56)
Attendance status
Exclusively full-time	31.4	(0.45)	19.1		(0.37)	5.7		(0.22)	14.1		(0.35)	5.6		(0.23)	7.5		(0.24)	31.4	(0.52)	19.4		(0.46)	4,774	28.1		(0.48)	840	17.6		(0.41)	9.1		(0.28)	14.2		(0.41)	6.6		(0.27)	6.7		(0.26)
Exclusively part-time	37.5	(0.65)	17.9		(0.51)	5.3		(0.31)	14.0		(0.47)	5.0		(0.28)	5.6		(0.28)	39.8	(0.71)	19.0		(0.59)	3,280	37.4		(0.81)	699	21.3		(0.78)	10.3		(0.50)	17.7		(0.71)	7.7		(0.43)	7.9		(0.50)
Mixed full- and part-time	41.1	(0.97)	23.7		(0.85)	7.1		(0.56)	18.7		(0.81)	7.1		(0.48)	8.3		(0.45)	42.6	(0.98)	26.3		(0.93)	1,383	37.0		(0.95)	324	23.4		(0.74)	12.2		(0.57)	19.5		(0.71)	9.3		(0.53)	9.1		(0.50)
Student housing status
On-campus	24.5	(0.70)	16.8		(0.56)	4.8		(0.31)	11.3		(0.49)	4.8		(0.31)	8.2		(0.40)	23.2	(0.84)	17.1		(0.76)	1,055	17.9		(0.78)	148	14.1		(0.67)	6.5		(0.48)	10.9		(0.58)	3.9		(0.37)	5.0		(0.46)
Off-campus	35.9	(0.58)	17.0		(0.40)	5.1		(0.30)	13.4		(0.35)	4.6		(0.22)	5.5		(0.28)	37.2	(0.57)	17.8		(0.49)	4,326	34.0		(0.65)	846	19.6		(0.63)	9.7		(0.41)	15.9		(0.58)	7.8		(0.41)	7.8		(0.43)
With parents or relatives	37.9	(0.59)	24.5		(0.61)	7.1		(0.36)	18.5		(0.53)	7.7		(0.35)	8.7		(0.37)	39.6	(0.78)	25.2		(0.66)	3,462	35.3		(0.78)	768	22.2		(0.61)	11.6		(0.43)	18.5		(0.56)	8.2		(0.37)	8.1		(0.42)
Attended more than one       institution	36.5	(1.18)	18.3		(0.98)	6.4		(0.59)	14.5		(0.98)	5.0		(0.48)	6.2		(0.48)	36.1	(1.11)	20.2		(0.97)	594	32.7		(1.09)	101	17.0		(0.95)	8.9		(0.77)	14.1		(0.86)	5.7		(0.56)	6.3		(0.62)
Dependency status
Dependent	33.4	(0.45)	22.1		(0.41)	6.6		(0.27)	16.4		(0.36)	6.5		(0.24)	8.6		(0.23)	34.4	(0.51)	22.8		(0.46)	4,543	31.2		(0.53)	1,001	22.0		(0.42)	11.0		(0.34)	17.9		(0.41)	8.0		(0.27)	8.1		(0.31)
Independent	36.4	(0.61)	16.1		(0.39)	4.8		(0.27)	12.7		(0.37)	4.5		(0.23)	5.0		(0.26)	38.1	(0.59)	17.1		(0.51)	4,894	33.9		(0.57)	863	17.6		(0.52)	9.0		(0.34)	14.5		(0.50)	6.8		(0.34)	6.9		(0.30)
Veteran status
Veteran	35.9	(2.33)	13.2		(1.52)	1.9		(0.51)	9.9		(1.40)	3.2		(0.68)	4.3		(0.84)	35.8	(2.36)	17.1		(2.08)	310	31.4		(2.21)	54	17.4		(1.74)	8.5		(1.22)	15.9		(1.67)	3.3		(0.68)	5.2		(0.97)
Not veteran	34.8	(0.38)	19.4		(0.31)	5.8		(0.22)	14.8		(0.27)	5.7		(0.18)	7.0		(0.18)	36.2	(0.38)	20.1		(0.36)	9,127	32.7		(0.42)	1,809	19.8		(0.37)	10.1		(0.26)	16.2		(0.35)	7.5		(0.24)	7.6		(0.25)
Field of study
Business/management	36.4	(1.00)	19.6		(0.97)	5.5		(0.41)	14.7		(1.01)	6.0		(0.44)	7.3		(0.61)	37.0	(1.13)	21.7		(1.06)	1,203	32.7		(1.11)	238	19.8		(0.85)	10.5		(0.72)	15.3		(0.75)	8.7		(0.66)	8.2		(0.60)
Computer science	33.7	(1.59)	19.2		(1.39)	4.7		(0.67)	14.7		(1.27)	5.3		(0.82)	5.6		(0.73)	34.7	(2.28)	19.8		(1.77)	402	29.3		(1.69)	70	17.4		(1.40)	8.9		(1.14)	14.0		(1.29)	6.2		(1.02)	6.8		(1.16)
Education	41.5	(1.61)	23.1		(1.14)	6.3		(0.74)	17.6		(1.03)	6.4		(0.72)	8.8		(0.86)	40.3	(1.90)	23.0		(1.48)	387	36.0		(1.84)	84	21.6		(1.53)	10.6		(1.08)	16.4		(1.23)	7.9		(1.03)	7.2		(0.90)
Engineering	30.9	(1.79)	16.6		(1.41)	5.6		(0.77)	12.9		(1.26)	4.8		(0.77)	6.8		(0.91)	33.0	(1.81)	19.0		(1.57)	409	33.1		(1.88)	86	20.9		(1.63)	11.0		(1.22)	15.4		(1.33)	7.9		(1.23)	9.1		(1.22)
Health	37.0	(0.83)	19.7		(0.68)	6.1		(0.48)	15.5		(0.63)	5.7		(0.43)	6.2		(0.50)	38.6	(2.49)	18.9		(4.49)	2,023	34.6		(0.74)	381	18.8		(0.70)	9.1		(0.55)	16.7		(0.67)	6.7		(0.45)	6.7		(0.39)
Humanities	34.0	(1.29)	18.8		(0.94)	5.6		(0.46)	14.2		(0.87)	5.0		(0.52)	7.3		(0.52)	31.2	(1.94)	20.5		(1.77)	1,776	36.6		(1.03)	424	23.9		(0.91)	11.7		(0.60)	19.6		(0.80)	8.9		(0.62)	8.9		(0.60)
Life sciences	31.2	(1.81)	19.7		(1.72)	5.7		(1.29)	14.6		(1.47)	5.4		(1.21)	7.9		(1.20)	31.2	(6.21)	20.5	!	(8.64)	416	26.7		(1.71)	75	17.9		(1.11)	9.1		(0.92)	14.2		(1.01)	6.4		(0.89)	7.1		(0.82)
Mathematics	23.0	(5.55)	11.0	!	(4.43)	‡		(†)	9.3	!	(4.26)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	41.1	(6.31)	15.6	!	(5.20)	24	14.3	!	(4.57)	‡	8.4	!	(2.81)	4.6	!	(2.26)	7.6	!	(2.67)	‡		(†)	6.2	!	(2.51)
Physical sciences	24.0	(4.39)	12.9		(3.49)	7.5	!	(2.85)	5.3	!	(2.13)	6.4	!	(3.05)	‡		(†)	24.5	(4.31)	15.7		(3.92)	58	29.2		(4.72)	14	24.7		(4.59)	17.2		(4.25)	20.8		(4.24)	8.9	!	(3.16)	13.6		(3.98)
Social/behavioral sciences	33.2	(2.08)	19.4		(1.57)	5.5		(0.90)	14.5		(1.39)	6.5		(1.01)	8.7		(1.05)	35.0	(2.16)	23.4		(1.94)	392	27.7		(1.87)	78	19.8		(1.38)	9.1		(0.87)	16.6		(1.37)	6.0		(0.88)	7.6		(0.79)
Vocational/technical	38.5	(2.11)	18.3		(1.60)	5.0		(0.86)	14.5		(1.40)	5.6		(1.0)	4.7		(0.61)	31.1	(1.93)	15.7		(1.78)	431	26.9		(1.94)	68	15.7		(1.59)	7.6		(1.12)	13.0		(1.56)	5.9		(0.85)	5.7		(1.02)
Undeclared	33.6	(0.67)	19.2		(0.59)	6.0		(0.38)	14.5		(0.49)	5.2		(0.33)	7.2		(0.38)	35.8	(1.29)	20.0		(1.14)	299	31.8		(2.10)	66	22.0		(1.86)	10.7		(1.53)	17.4		(1.68)	7.9		(1.41)	6.6		(1.13)
Other	33.3	(1.49)	18.0		(1.06)	5.3		(0.67)	13.6		(0.94)	6.2		(0.57)	5.9		(0.56)	34.6	(1.23)	18.5		(0.97)	1,350	29.3		(0.94)	225	16.7		(0.77)	9.4		(0.64)	13.9		(0.70)	6.4		(0.52)	6.7		(0.56)
Type of institution
Public less-than-2-year	30.6	(1.85)	10.9		(1.09)	4.8		(0.80)	9.3		(1.05)	4.0		(0.86)	3.9		(0.90)	31.9	(1.99)	9.0		(0.89)	58	30.2		(6.13)	7	12.2	!	(3.86)	8.5	!	(4.11)	10.5	!	(3.34)	6.5	!	(3.19)	1.6	!	(0.75)
Public 2-year	41.4	(0.59)	23.0		(0.47)	6.9		(0.33)	18.3		(0.42)	7.1		(0.28)	7.2		(0.27)	41.8	(0.54)	23.7		(0.48)	5,038	40.3		(0.67)	1,289	25.6		(0.64)	13.2		(0.43)	21.0		(0.60)	10.3		(0.38)	9.7		(0.41)
Public 4-year nondoctorate	34.2	(1.77)	21.4		(1.12)	5.3		(0.61)	16.3		(1.05)	5.2		(0.56)	8.5		(0.63)	38.9	(1.24)	25.4		(1.14)	817	37.8		(2.12)	198	24.3		(1.30)	10.2		(0.79)	20.4		(1.25)	6.9		(0.78)	7.9		(0.88)
Public 4-year doctorate	25.7	(1.11)	16.3		(0.64)	4.4		(0.34)	11.7		(0.60)	3.9		(0.39)	8.1		(0.42)	25.0	(1.03)	17.8		(0.86)	893	21.9		(0.84)	139	15.6		(0.80)	6.8		(0.47)	12.8		(0.71)	3.5		(0.33)	4.5		(0.45)
Private nonprofit less-       than-4-year	31.3	(2.06)	12.9		(1.89)	4.5		(1.03)	10.2		(1.49)	2.8		(0.82)	5.0		(1.27)	30.3	(3.75)	10.2		(2.81)	58	22.3		(4.25)	6	9.4	!	(3.42)	5.9		(1.73)	8.1	!	(2.86)	‡		(†)	3.5	!	(1.64)
Private nonprofit 4-year       nondoctorate	26.0	(1.16)	14.7		(0.78)	5.3		(0.68)	9.5		(0.58)	4.0		(0.41)	6.7		(0.76)	25.5	(1.74)	16.6		(1.46)	375	24.4		(1.66)	58	15.3		(1.23)	7.8		(1.04)	10.9		(1.06)	4.9		(0.77)	7.0		(0.97)
Private nonprofit 4-year       doctorate	18.3	(1.67)	11.6		(1.39)	2.4		(0.54)	7.4		(1.37)	2.9		(0.57)	6.3		(0.91)	22.1	(1.70)	12.6		(1.38)	356	14.6		(1.85)	34	9.6		(1.24)	4.0		(0.65)	7.3		(1.26)	3.4	!	(1.03)	4.2		(0.70)
Private for-profit       less-than-2-year	24.1	(0.50)	7.8		(0.23)	3.1		(0.18)	4.6		(0.16)	2.2		(0.19)	3.5		(0.22)	26.5	(1.02)	5.5		(0.51)	402	16.7		(0.74)	15	3.8		(0.56)	2.2		(0.39)	3.4		(0.57)	1.9		(0.46)	1.7		(0.39)
Private for-profit 2 years       or more	25.4	(1.63)	11.7		(1.04)	4.1		(0.51)	7.5		(0.75)	3.3		(0.45)	4.9		(0.71)	28.8	(1.46)	11.3		(1.20)	1,439	20.9		(0.74)	118	8.2		(0.37)	5.2		(0.34)	6.6		(0.36)	3.2		(0.24)	4.3		(0.29)

—Not available.

†Not applicable.

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

‡Reporting standards not met. 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.

NOTE: Data are based on a sample survey of students who enrolled at any time during the school year. Percentages of students who took remedial courses are based on student reports. Data exclude Puerto Rico. Detail may not sum to totals because of survey item nonresponse and rounding. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003-04, 2007-08, and 2011-12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04, NPSAS:08, and NPSAS:12). (This table was prepared August 2014.)