The percentage of Colorado high school graduates who can't do college-level work has not budged in four years, the state Department of Higher Education reported Thursday.

The report shows that 29.9 percent of freshmen who entered college right after high school last year needed remedial courses in at least one subject. The year before, the figure was 29.7 percent.

Math continued to be the main problem. Forty percent of students at two-year schools and 16 percent of those at four-year institutions needed help in math.

The lack of progress did not surprise education officials. Scores on statewide achievement tests have also remained flat, with math the main culprit.

David Skaggs, director of the higher ed department, said the numbers reinforce the need for more remediation in high school. In the long run, a school reform package, approved by the legislature last spring, will make a difference, he said.

The measure calls for the education and higher education departments to adopt a definition of what students must know and be able to do to be prepared for college or the work force. Schools will then revise their curriculums, teaching strategies and tests to focus on that goal.

New academic standards in 13 areas will be completed by next year and the total reform package is to be fully implemented by 2012.