Ready for college

North Carolinians could come away from your Oct. 15 article about the state superintendent’s race with an incorrect view about college readiness among North Carolina’s high school graduates. In fact, only 8.4 percent of the students who go to the University of North Carolina institutions require remediation, and nearly 28 percent of our graduates go to a UNC system school.

Twenty-two percent of our graduates go directly to a community college. Of that group, 68 percent of them require some type of remedial course. This reflects approximately 15 percent of the total number of high school graduates.

It also is important to remember that community colleges operate with an open door policy, and students can enter without going through a competitive selection process.

June Atkinson

State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Raleigh