Neither do I. There are other venues for remedial classes, such as community colleges and so forth, that can ensure that students are actually prepared for college. But, truly, if a person gets to age 18 and isn't ready for college, there are maybe three reasons why:
1. The school system failed him, and now he's got to go back and do remedial work on his own dime to cover what should have been covered in grades 9-12.
2. The person's an immature 18 and needs to grow up a little prior to being ready to take on the challenges of the university;
3. The person doesn't belong in college and would be better served by a tech school.
Not everyone belongs in a university. My wife and I both attended, but I'm not sure all our kids will.
The article and others like it in the popular press are about community colleges and doing away with placement tests.