Covington County students who pursue a college education require about the same number remedial classes as their statewide peers.

Nearly a third of Alabama high school graduates who enrolled in a state two- or four-year college in fall 2013 needed to take at least one remedial class, according to the most recent data available from the Alabama Department of Higher Education.

A third of Covington County students (33 percent) who went on to college took at least one remedial class.

The state also breaks the data down by high school. In 2013, the percentage of students from each high school taking at least one remedial class was:

• Andalusia – 34 percent.

• Florala – 33 percent.

• Opp – 33 percent.

• Pleasant Home – 43 percent.

• Red Level – 29 percent.

• Straughn – 27 percent.

More students from each of the high schools were enrolled in remedial math than in remedial English. Remedial reading also is taught on college campuses.

A greater percentage of Alabama’s high school graduates are going to college. Of students who graduated in spring 1998, 42 percent were enrolled in a state two- or four-year college in the fall. That share was 51 percent among 2013 graduates. But the percentage of those students ready for college work has not improved.

Numbers show the state is behind a goal set in 2012 when Alabama adopted its long-term strategic plan, Plan 2020. By 2013, the Department of Education envisioned that 27 percent of graduates attending a state college would need to take remedial classes. The actual proportion needing at least one remedial class was 32 percent.

Al Thompson, a state school board member who represents Baldwin, Conecuh, Butler, Crenshaw and Covington counties, as well as part of Mobile County, told state media this week that that number is too high.

“Before I got on the board, I had no idea the remediation rate was that high. To me, it’s unacceptable,” he said.

The Plan 2020 document calls for just 10 percent of graduates entering college in need of remediation by the year 2020.

The director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, Gregory Fitch, said meaningful improvement will involve more than raising achievement among high school students.

“I think one of the first things is recognizing that you don’t attack the issue of (remediation among) these students in 11th and 12th grade,” he said. “It’s all the way down to pre-K.”

College students who have to take remedial classes are less likely to graduate, research shows. In addition, those courses do not count for college credit, which adds to the cost of attending college.

President Barack Obama’s proposal to offer free tuition for community college students who meet certain criteria has trained a spotlight on the lack of preparedness among many two-year college pupils.

Fitch said meaningful improvement will involve more than raising achievement among high school students.

“I think one of the first things is recognizing that you don’t attack the issue of (remediation among) these students in 11th and 12th grade,” he said. “It’s all the way down to pre-K.”

Research indicates that college students who have to take remedial classes are less likely to graduate. In addition, those courses do not count for college credit, which adds to the cost of attending college.

Thompson, the state school board member, said increasing the number of high school and college graduates is vital for economic growth.

“More education breeds more economic success, usually,” he said.