Innovation

Innovators Worth Watching: StraighterLine – Christensen …

Every year, American students and taxpayers spend roughly $7 billion trying to bridge the gap between finishing high school and actually being ready for college. In two-year colleges, 52% of students are funnelled into remedial coursework. Of these students, only about 40% finish the remedial courses, and less than 10% even graduate. High schools and colleges nationwide are making some headway in improving outcomes, but there is tremendous room for innovative thinkers to make their mark.

StraighterLine, an ambitious Baltimore edtech company, has been making its mark on the remedial education space for eight years. Their solution? Radically low-cost, low-risk, competency-based online courses recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE). “Given low completion rates nationally, starting college is a high-risk decision for most students,” says StraighterLine founder Burck Smith. “By starting with a free trial and then continuing with a monthly subscription, students can get a sense of whether they are likely to be successful before committing to the much higher tuition of a traditional college.”

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