College Milestones
Completion of Gatekeeper Courses: Idaho
What Is Measured?
Percentage of Idaho Community College students enrolled in developmental English/reading, math, or both who completed gatekeeper courses in the same subject or subjects within their first two academic years
Who Is Counted?
Students entering Idaho Community Colleges for the first time in fall 2006 who took at least one developmental course in their first year
What It Tells Us
Some 23 percent of students in Idaho Community Colleges who took developmental courses in their first year completed corresponding gatekeeper courses during their first two academic years. Some 25 percent of students who entered directly from high school completed corresponding gatekeeper courses.
Why It's Important
There is general consensus that timely completion of gatekeeper courses, the lowest-level college-level courses in the core subjects of mathematics, reading, and writing, positively affects student outcomes such as attainment of certificates and degrees and transfer to a four-year institution. Completion of gatekeeper courses fulfills requirements for graduation and transfer as well as prerequisites for more advanced courses in various fields.
About the Data
First-time students: include students with no prior postsecondary experience except for college credits earned during high school or in the summer before enrolling in the fall.
Directly from high school: defined as students age 18 or 19 in states without linked K–12 and postsecondary data systems.
Data Source
Complete College America. (2011, September). Time is the enemy. Washington, DC: Author.