Entry-level examinations and the community college: "Cooling out" or casting out?

The community college system has been charged with providing open access to education for those who would otherwise be unable to obtain higher education, and with maintaining high educational standards at the same time. In an attempt to reconcile these disparate goals, the State of Florida legislated, beginning in 1985, entry-level testing and placement into remedial courses for those scoring below legislated cut-off scores. Remedial education, if effective, should result in increased student success. When the student success rates of a pre-legislation cohort are compared to students from a post-legislation cohort, they have not increased. Instead, declines are seen in graduation, retention in good academic standing, and the number leaving the college in good academic standing. These declines were not greater for minorities than for white students. The "cooling-out" function of community colleges is enhanced by the process.