Are placement exams forcing students into remedial classes?

The Boston Globe reports:

College placement exam comes under new scrutiny

One three-hour exam decides the fate of many Massachusetts college students. It isn’t the much-feared SAT exam, but it’s proving to be nearly as controversial.

Called the Accuplacer, the test is taken by many of the 35,000 students who enter public colleges and universities each year — and critics are questioning whether it is, in fact, what its name suggests: an accurate way to place students into the proper college courses.

One three-hour exam decides the fate of many Massachusetts college students. It isn’t the much-feared SAT exam, but it’s proving to be nearly as controversial.

Called the Accuplacer, the test is taken by many of the 35,000 students who enter public colleges and universities each year — and critics are questioning whether it is, in fact, what its name suggests: an accurate way to place students into the proper college courses.

All this matters because the stakes are high. First-year college students in Massachusetts and many other states take the Accuplacer test before they register for their first courses. Many students who test into remedial classes never pass them and rarely go on to earn a degree. Students have to pay for the remedial courses, but they don’t count for credit.