Jennifer HallFreshmen Cal Poly students ranked highest in the recent California State University 2005 annual report in mathematics and English proficiency and high school grade point average for entering freshmen.
The study, published on March 15, 2006, analyzed freshmen students’ readiness for college based on three components.
Cal Poly students ranked the highest among all the CSU schools in all three areas.
“Our newly-selected students are college ready,” said Jim Maraviglia, assistant vice president for admissions, recruitment and financial aid at Cal Poly.
Ninety-five percent of freshmen Cal Poly students were proficient in mathematics and 91 percent were proficient in English, according to the CSU Web site.
The report also included the percentage of Cal Poly students that required remediation in mathematics and English during their first year.
Five percent of freshmen required remediation in mathematics and 9 percent required remediation in English.
According to a Cal Poly press release, 98 percent of the students admitted to Cal Poly who required remediation were proficient at the end of their first year.
“Remediation really isn’t an issue,” Maraviglia said.
The average high school grade point average for entering Cal Poly students was 3.74 according to the Web site.
Systemwide, 63.2 percent of CSU freshman were proficient in mathematics and 53.4 percent were proficient in English. The mean high school grade point average was 3.31.
The Maritime Academy held the second-highest ranks with 81.1 percent of first-time freshman proficient in mathematics and 74.1 percent proficient in English.
The second-highest mean in high school grade point average was San Diego State with an average of 3.49.
At Cal Poly Pomona, 71.2 percent of freshman were proficient in mathematics and 50.6 percent were proficient in English. The mean high school grade point average was 3.29.
In the 2004 CSU annual report, 95.6 percent of freshmen Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students were proficient in mathematics and 89.2 percent were proficient in English. The mean high school grade point average was 3.77.
The CSU Trustee policy requires that new students show proficiency in math and English before they can enroll in college-level math and English courses. Proficiency is based on standardized test scores or performance on the CSU Entry Level Math (ELM) exam and the CSU English Placement Test (EPT) according to the CSU Web site.
The report also included a racial and gender breakdown in proficiency and grade point average. This breakdown and additional information regarding the annual report can be found at www.calstate.edu.