In 2013, the Florida state legislature decided it wanted to “help students save money and stay in school.” It passed a law denying public colleges the right to require unprepared high school students to take remedial courses before enrolling in regular and gateway courses. This law was based on an assumption that students were “wasting” their time and money on remedial courses (that don’t count toward degrees) instead of moving directly into courses that do count toward their degrees. Students who spend too much time in remediation, the argument went, are more likely to become discouraged and drop out—thereby burning through their financial aid with nothing to show for it. These remedial (non-credit bearing) courses, it was further assumed, increased