Presented to the

Sunnyside Unified School District Board of Governors

August 23, 2011

Miguel Palacios, Ph.D. President Emeritus, Pima Community College &

Sylvia Lee, Ph.D. Former Campus President, Pima Community College Representing the Pima Open Admissions Coalition

PCC Admissions Regulations

Current
Is a high school graduate, or Recipient of a GED, or Is at least 18 years of age and can benefit from instruction or A non-high school graduate between ages of 16 and 18 who has officially withdrawn from high school who can benefit from instruction
(PCC website)

Proposed Change
Is a high school graduate and pass entrance exam, or Recipient of a GED and pass entrance exam, or

Is at least 16 years of age and demonstrates college readiness in math, reading and writing on the PCC entrance exam.
IMPORTANT: the lowest level developmental education course in math, reading and writing will be eliminated
(4-15-11 SPG 3501)

Why is this important to the SUSD?

31% of all enrollment at PCC are Hispanics 33% of the residents in Pima County are Hispanics

SUSD students enrolled in PCC

Desert View HS - 103 (33%) of 2010 grads enrolled in PCC Fall 2010 Sunnyside HS - 148 (35%) of 2010 grads enrolled in PCC Fall 2010

S.T.A.R. Academic Center 6 (13%) of 2010 grads enrolled at PCC Fall 2010

MATH: Hispanic students make up 44% of all enrollment in the lowest level Dev. Ed math (03-07) 92.4 of recent HS grad. Hispanics tested into developmental math (Fall 2009

Why is this important to the SUSD?

WRITING: Hispanic students make up 51% of all enrollment in the lowest level Dev. Ed writing (03-07) 62.5% of recent HS grad. Hispanics tested into Dev. Ed. writing (2009) READING: Hispanic students make up 51% of all enrollment in the lowest level Dev. Ed reading (03-07) 46% of recent HS grad. Hispanic s tested into dev. Ed. reading (2009)
Pima County has 18.9% of the population living below the poverty level vs. 16.5% in AZ. (2010 Census) Approx. 136,000 adults in Pima County without a high school diploma. (2010 Census)

The proposed PCC changes could result in at least 5000 individuals not able to pass the entrance exam
If students do not pass the entrance exam they will be referred to the Pathways to Pima. They will NOT be allowed to take other credit courses until they score above a minimum level established by PCC

Point
Chancellor Flores has stated the following as rationale for the change in admissions requirements:

Counterpoint
Why only show data on Math? Success can be measured in multiple ways!
Math skills can easily be forgotten the longer time away from a math course 69% of students in lowest level MAT 82 are adults over the age of 20 (Based on PCC 4 yr Assessment Study) 47% students passed lowest level Math 82 (Based on
PCC 4 yr Assessment Study)

Percentage of PCC students testing into the lowest level of developmental math in Fall 2005 that had completed any collegelevel course within two years:

49 to 52% students passed higher level Dev. Ed. Math courses (Based on PCC 4 yr Assessment Study) The Average pass rate for all 3 Dev. Ed. math courses is similar to the pass rate for ALL math courses including College Level (based on PCC 4 yr
Assessment Study)

5 percent

Important: true indicators of literacy are reading and writing and this data should be considered Data Missing: Chancellor Flores data not found on the PCC website

Data on Lowest Levels of Developmental Ed Courses 03 to 07

1. Pass rate for lowest level Dev. Ed.
MAT 82 - 47% pass rate ( MAT 86 - 52%; MAT 92 49% pass rates) REA 71 - 75% pass rate( REA 81 75% pass rate) WRT 70 - 58% pass rate (WRT 100 - 62% pass rate) 2. The majority of students in lowest level Dev. Ed. are adults over 20 yrs of age MAT 82 69% are >20 yrs REA 71 - 59% are >20 yrs WRT - 57% are >20 yrs 3. The majority of students in lowest level Dev. Ed. are minorities Math 67% are minority Reading 84% are minority Writing 75% are minority 4. The majority of all lowest level Dev. Ed. courses are taught by adjuncts (part-time) Math 89% taught by adjuncts Reading 64% taught by adjuncts Writing 67% taught by adjuncts 5. Fall 2012 - 92 total sections could be eliminated 200 for the year 53 Sections of MAT 82 10 Sections of REA 71 29 Sections of WRT 70 (PCC Website: 4 yr Assessment Study 03-07)

Point
Chancellor Flores uses Associate Degree attainment as rationale for the change in admissions requirements

Counterpoint
PCC students want more than just an associate degree
Dev. Ed. students attend PCC for the following reasons:

Percentage of PCC students testing into the lowest level of developmental math in Fall 2004 who had graduated with an associate degree by fall 2009. 4.1 percent

22% pursuing a degree/certificate 15% for job skills 11% personal interest 20% transfer to 4 yr college 9% UA student taking PCC courses 20% other

(PCC website Planning & Institutional Research Fall 2010)

Data Questions:
1. 2. 3. Why does Chancellor Flores data ONLY list Associate Degree graduation? Why is the BOG not considering writing and reading ? The data used could not be found on the PCC Website.

2010 Accreditation North Central Association Report Developmental Education Recommendations

Point
Accreditation Team Recommend PCC do the following: 1. Implement the policies already on the books

Counterpoint
Dev. Ed. policy on books is currently NOT being implemented SPG 3114
If test into Dev Ed Reading can only take one general edu. Course Must take Student Success 101 course if test into 2 or more Dev. Ed. Mandatory orientation and advising If assess below lowest level refer students to Adult Basic Ed.

2.

Reduce class sizes in lowest level Dev. Ed. Courses

3.

Hire specially credentialed faculty for Dev. Ed.

Class sizes: Math - no limit up to 40 based on room size Reading limits size to 24 Writing limits size to 27 Instructors: MAT 82 - 89% taught by adjuncts REA 71 - 64% taught by adjuncts WRT 70 67% taught by adjuncts
(PCC website PIR)

Point
Chancellor Flores has publically stated that the High Schools are all on board with the new admissions requirements.
Alternate Preparatory Pathways for students who would not be admitted to PCC per Chancellor Flores

Counterpoint
High Schools HS grads must still take PCC Entrance Exam. No formal partnerships have been developed to align AIMS and PCC Entrance Exam. Literacy Volunteers of Tucson limited capacity;
primarily small group tutoring; funded by donations; students not able to obtain Fed. financial aid.

Adult Education - serves approx. 6,000 annually Students not able to obtain Fed. financial
aid; Non-credit ESL and GED preparation classes ;Limited capacity Fed. grant and College funded thru 2012 State eliminated funding in 2010; possible waitlist ; more dollars needed

Literacy Volunteers of Tucson ESL GED testing Adult Education College Readiness Academy (now called Pathways to Pima) County One Stop Offerings

College Readiness Academy (now called Pathways to Pima) Not much known about the
non-credit workshops at this time; students expected to pay unless College funds or PCC Foundation scholarships can be found annually.

County One Stop Offerings Capacity for

workforce training is limited based on annual funding. Students must qualify.