California has a new law (AB 705) that requires community college districts to increase the chances that a student will enroll and complete transfer-level coursework in Math and English within one year. Colleges will no longer depend on testing to determine class placement. Instead, assessment measures that include high school performance (i.e. GPA, course grades, advanced coursework) will be used in course placement. Full implementation of the new placement rule will begin at COS in spring 2019 for English, and summer 2019 for mathematics.
The goal of AB 705 is to ensure that students are not obligated to take remedial courses that may delay or deter their educational progress. However, if evidence suggests they are highly unlikely to succeed in the college-level course, students can choose to take basic skills classes. If a student chooses to take a refresher course before embarking on their transfer level curriculum, both English and mathematics departments will offer this opportunity.
Colleges shall use evidence-based multiple measures for placing students into English-as-a-second language (ESL) coursework. For those students placed into credit ESL coursework, their placement should maximize the probability that they will complete degree and transfer requirements in English within three years.
