The relationship among the timing of college start, remedial education participation, and postsecondary persistence

Approximately one-third of all college entrants enroll in at least one remedial education course during their college career. At the same time, large numbers of college entrants begin their postsecondary career after some formal departure between high school completion and college start. Previous research suggests that remedial education participants and delayed-start students persist in college at lower rates than their non-remedial participants and immediate-start counterparts. With such large numbers of students delaying their college start and participating in remedial education courses during their college career, it is important to fully understand the persistence implications when these three variables are examined simultaneously.;Using the National Center for Educational Statistics Educational Longitudinal Study 2002, this study examined the relationship among the timing of college start, remedial education participation, and postsecondary persistence. These variables were analyzed alongside several other factors known to have an influence on postsecondary persistence.;Postsecondary grade point average, socioeconomic status, the timing of college start, academic and social integration, and attending a public 2- year institution were the strongest predictors of postsecondary persistence. When examined in conjunction with student background, academic performance, and postsecondary environment variables, remedial education participation had no meaningful relationship with postsecondary persistence, while a delayed college start had a statistically significant relationship with students completing a postsecondary career. Further research should focus on the educational outcomes of remedial and non-remedial students starting college after a gap of more than two years after high school completion.