Comparison of Failure Rates for Completers vs. Noncompleters in Top Community-College Courses
| Failure rate | |||||
| Rank for enrollment rate | Course title | Overall enrollment rate | Completers | Noncompleters | Difference (in percentage points) |
| 1. | College Composition I | 59.2% | 0.65% | 15.1% | 14.5 |
| 2. | College Composition II | 40.5% | 0.9% | 11.9% | 11.0 |
| 3. | Introduction to Computer Applications and Concepts | 36.5% | 0.9% | 17.2% | 16.3 |
| 4. | College Success Skills | 33.7% | 0.6% | 12.8% | 12.2 |
| 5. | United States History I | 29.1% | 1.4% | 17.6% | 16.1 |
| 6. | General Biology I | 24.4% | 1.7% | 17.9% | 16.2 |
| 7. | United States History II | 19.6% | 1.1% | 13.3% | 12.2 |
| 8. | Introduction to Psychology I | 19.6% | 1.8% | 16.3% | 14.6 |
| 9. | Principles of Public Speaking | 16.5% | 0.6% | 14.0% | 13.4 |
| 10. | General Biology II | 15.1% | 1.1% | 9.8% | 8.7 |
| 11. | Precalculus I | 15.0% | 2.7% | 19.4% | 16.7 |
| 12. | Introduction to Business | 14.5% | 1.3% | 19.0% | 17.7 |
| 13. | History of Western Civilization I | 13.7% | 2.2% | 20.0% | 17.8 |
| 14. | Introduction to Speech Communication | 13.5% | 0.8% | 12.8% | 12.0 |
| 15. | College Success Skills (a separate course from No. 4) | 13.1% | 3.5% | 16.7% | 13.1 |
| 16. | Principles of Macroeconomics | 12.9% | 2.2% | 17.3% | 15.1 |
| 17. | Principles of Sociology | 11.9% | 1.7% | 16.1% | 14.4 |
| 18. | Principles of Psychology | 11.5% | 1.6% | 17.4% | 15.8 |
| 19. | Principles of Accounting I | 11.4% | 3.4% | 25.0% | 21.6 |
| 20. | Introduction to Sociology I | 9.7% | 1.6% | 12.8% | 11.2 |
| 21. | Mathematics for the Liberal Arts I | 9.6% | 1.4% | 16.7% | 15.3 |
| 22. | Lifetime Fitness and Wellness | 9.3% | 0.9% | 14.1% | 13.2 |
| 23. | Principles of Microeconomics | 8.6% | 1.7% | 12.9% | 11.2 |
| 24. | Developmental Psychology | 8.5% | 1.3% | 13.9% | 12.6 |
| 25. | Orientation to (student’s specific discipline) | 7.3% | 1.9% | 12.1% | 10.2 |
| Average of failure rates | 1.6% | 15.7% | |||
Note: Data are drawn from an analysis of the transcripts of nearly 73,000 credential-seeking community-college students who entered college in a single state system between 2004 and 2006. Of those students, 19.2 percent completed a certificate or degree from a community college in the system by 2009. Some students who are counted as noncompleters may have transferred and finished their degrees outside the system. Figures are rounded, but calculations were done using unrounded figures. The average of failure rates is an unweighted average.
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