UNLV asks: Why do freshmen struggle so much?

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Officials at the University of Nevada Las Vegas want answers to a nagging question: Why are so many incoming freshman not ready for college?

In 2008, more than a third of Nevada high school graduates at the state's colleges and universities required remedial classes in English and math.

UNLV president Neal Smatresk has proposed a $1-per-credit-hour surcharge for undergraduates. That money would be used to help better understand where high school students are falling short as they enter college.

It could also be used for assessments, remedial classes and tutoring.

Information from the assessments would also be shared with local school districts to help identify problem areas.

Smatresk plans to ask for support in December from the Board of Regents. He said the situation should be approached the same way a doctor approaches a patient.

"As soon as those students get here we need to diagnose, prescribe and treat," Smatresk said. "If we come up with the right prescription to fill those critical skills gaps, then I think we can give our students an edge."

UNLV will take a close look at Clark County School District, the pipeline for 80 percent of its undergraduate population.

"We would be more than willing to work with the university and the district in terms of truly identifying what impacts a student's performance and readiness for college," said Ruben Murillo, president of the Clark County Education Association.

That assessment, he said, should include a "component that deals with their home life and a lack of family support," Murillo said.

Simply identifying the teachers with the best and worst track records in terms of college-ready students won't solve all the problems, according to Julie Greenberg, senior policy director for the National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.

"You can have a fantastic teacher doing a perfectly competent job but the kids are still below grade level," Greenberg said.

There can be a variety of reasons for that.

"For a lot of these kids, the problems started in elementary school - you were off track long before your senior year," said Greenberg, who taught secondary math for 13 years in Maryland. "You were passed along and passed along, and all the cracks and gaps were papered over."

Smatresk, who was appointed as UNLV's president in August, said the ultimate goal is to reduce the need for incoming freshmen to take remedial classes.

"It's not about blaming teachers, it's about revealing the problems we have and then honestly developing strategies to resolve them," Smatresk said. "We would like to call it an attempt to help the teachers."