Faced with thousands of incoming students who needed remedial classes, the California State University system launched an effort in 2001 to provide high school juniors with an early signal of whether they have the English and math skills necessary for college, and to provide help for those who do not. CSU draws its students from the top third of the state's high school graduates. Applicants must have at least a B average in a college-prepatory curriculum. Even so, placement tests identified 47 percent of incoming freshmen in 2004 as needing remedial instruction in English, and 37 percent as needing it in math. Under the Early Assessment Program, made available statewide in spring 2004, high school juniors can elect to take an augmented version of the California Standards Test, the statewide test given annually to students in grades 2-11. The augmented exam includes 15 questions each in mathematics and English and a 45-minute English essay, based on a blueprint developed by CSU faculty members in consultation with the state department of education.