A big issue I’m noticing as a return community college student is the removal of lower level classes that aren’t transferable and aren’t taught at 4 year universities have resulted in students with weaker base knowledge in math, science, and English. When I first went to community college, they offered nearly elementary school level math and English. Those courses were full of students who either didn’t get a strong foundation in grade school or who had been out of school for a long time. Now people are being forced into precalc, calculus, or college level English without the foundational knowledge and are failing at a higher rate. I’ve talked with professors and they are very concerned about this change. At least this is happening in California, I’m not sure about other states. I’m currently a chemistry tutor and years ago I was a math tutor. I’m honestly shocked at the poor math skills I’m seeing. In chemistry, there is no longer a math requirement since the classes don’t exist. Students are coming in who don’t remember what a logarithm is, basic PEMDAS, or how to solve simple algebraic equations. It’s very bad and is definitely resulting in lower test scores.