Mis/Alignment Between High School and Community College Standards

This study explores the extent to which "college-ready" students, by high school standards, are assigned to remedial courses in college. We used a unique longitudinal data set that links high school and community college transcript data. Focusing on math, we developed a naming device-inter-sector math misalignment (ISMM)-to measure mis/alignment between high school and college-level math standards. The results confirm that ISMM was prevalent and substantial with respect to high school grades, moderate to substantial based on different measures of math course-taking, and minor to moderate based on standardized test results. We see each of these cases as problematic-for equity, for efficiency, and for educational opportunity.