No more than 4 percent of federal financial aid given to freshmen and sophomores goes toward remedial coursework, said the new report from the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) which conducts research at the request of Congress.

Only 6 percent of freshmen and sophomores at 430 schools surveyed receive both federal financial aid and remedial courses, the GAO reported. Such remedial courses generally are designed to help students raise math, reading and writing skills to levels they were expected to attain in high school.

Many critics have sought to eliminate federal financial aid for students enrolled in remedial coursework as a way to free up more federal funds for financial aid. But the GAO said its survey responses "raise questions about some preconceived notions about the relationship between college remediation and financial aid.

"Though not definitive of the national picture, relatively few financial aid dollars were associated with college remediation at the schools responding to our survey," the GAO added.

Based on these results, ending federal aid for remedial courses may not represent a "meaningful" opportunity to better target federal funds, the report said.

While the study showed the federal government is not a major funder of remedial coursework, the GAO nonetheless found that students of color represent a high share of remedial course enrollments. At many institutions, minority students represent a larger proportion of remedial students compared with their enrollment in the overall student body.

The GAO documented the extent of minority involvement in several case studies of various types of institutions. At one four-year institution, for example, students of color represented 42 percent of remedial course enrollments but only 19 percent of the student body.

At another four-year school, minorities accounted for 87 percent of remedial enrollments but 42 percent of total enrollment. At one two-year school, students of color represented 35 percent of remedial enrollments and 20 percent of the student body.

Among the colleges and universities surveyed, most used mandatory placement tests to assign students to courses "commensurate with their skill level" before they enrolled in higher education. Some institutions required students to complete remedial coursework in their first term, while others allowed students to take such courses throughout their college careers.

A copy of the report, Student Financial Aid: Federal Aid Awarded to Students Taking Remedial Courses, is free from: GAO, P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg, MD, 20884-6015; or call, (202) 512-6000. Ask for report GAO/HEHS-97-142.