Latasha Gandy thought she was the ideal high school student.

Attending Arlington Senior High School in St. Paul, Minn., she kept her head in her books and did her homework. "I was that student everybody wanted to multiply," she said.

Her mother was elated with Arlington, a brand new school with the latest technology, web training, access to Apple computers and — best of all — the promise that it would prepare every student for college. Gandy's parents hadn't gone to college.

Gandy was in the honors program and graduated with a GPA of 4.2 out of 5.

But when she went to enroll at her local community college, a counselor said she had to take a placement test. When the results came back, Gandy was told she needed remedial classes.

"My first question was, 'What are those?'" she recalled, the surprise still evident in her voice. "And they told me they were basically material to catch me up to be ready to be in college. And I remember asking, 'How is that possible that I'm not ready for college when I graduated with a 4.2 GPA?'"

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