Are High Schools Preparing College-Ready Students?

There is a lot of interest in college-readiness these days from education policy types. They argue persuasively of the need for a substantial percentage of Americans to hold advanced degrees - if we are to maintain our economic position in the world.

Are high schools preparing college-ready students?

Each semester I ask my 150 students (college sophomores and juniors mostly; 21+ ACTs, so we're talking top third of high school grads) to briefly reflect on their own high school experiences writing on the topic - "Ready (or not) for College: How my high school (and I) prepared me for college."

As one might imagine, their opinions are very mixed. Assessing their own contribution to their education along side those of their high schools, my students report stories of great teaching and great apathy from the various faculties in the state. They are industrious. They are slackers. About half of them got a rude awakening on campus.

Many brag about their high schools and remember their toughest teachers as the ones who readied them. Others tell stories of how high school is one great big negotiation with teachers. No assignment is late, no grade is final, until the teacher surrenders and "gives" the student the grade they want. After basketball and football, it may well be the most popular sport in school. One gets the distinct impression that during high school, such rubber-spined enablers are among the students' favorites. Later on, they are derided for their permissiveness.

This is also a pretty good illustration of why student opinion of teaching should only be given a small part in any teacher evaluation. Focusing too much on student opinion is inappropriate as a goal since it will ultimately lower the standards of teachers who are trying to earn points with their students. "Ya need more time for that month-old assignment? No problem."

Here's one student's reflection on her highly-regarded high school.

This from Sarah (with permission):

My high school did not prepare me for college. Yes, it had state of the art equipment and had much money put into its development, but that does not mean that it will educate it students.

Many of the teacher’s were not concerned about the education of the students. Every subject and lesson was taught based on what was on the test. After the test, there was no real teaching.

I do remember having a few really good teachers who were very interactive and truly valued the learning process. Though these particular teachers were tough in their testing and grading, they actually taught me something of value.

Teaching to the test does not always have to be a bad thing. However, it does nothing good for students if you merely put things into their brain, like you throw trash into a garbage can, so it is there for them to dig through if they need to. Then, the test comes around, just like a trash truck, and takes all of that knowledge from you because, in a students mind, they will never need it again. And so, the information for the test has been taken away from the student forever.

This is how my high school worked. And, for the most part, everyone was okay with this method. I learned nothing from this system because my parents raised me to be critical thinker. When I was told something in school, I not only remembered it, but I thought about what it meant and made connections to other things I had learned.

I did most of my own preparation for college. I took ACT preparation classes and bought many ACT preparation books to get the best information on how to prepare. If there were any content, such as pre-calculus, that I did not understand, I would go and seek out the answers. There was not someone standing beside me telling me all of the right answers; I had to seek them for myself.

While in my senior year of high school, I decided to actually attend college classes instead of taking all of my classes at my school. I learned more in two semesters than I had throughout all of high school. The coursework was rigorous and complicated, but I set a goal and worked extremely hard to excel in everything that I did.

While most people were hanging out with their friends and going out to different places, I did all of my homework, studied, and spent time with my friends if there was time left over. Taking a full college course load while in high school is not easy, but it is manageable.

In the end, though my high school did not appear to prepare me well for college, I am glad that I had my high school experience there. If I had gone to another high school, I may not have learned the necessity of critical thinking or the difference between a good teacher and a not-as-good teacher. I also would have never known how much more difficult college really is.

Though I may have prepared myself better for college on my own, high school prepared me for the real world where you must seek out the knowledge and answers you truly want on your own.

New effort to make kids college-ready

This from The Columbus Dispatch

Teachers in elementary, middle and high school often team up to help students prepare for the next level.

In a new twist, some high-school teachers in Columbus City Schools will be paired with local college professors to ensure that more students are college-ready.

“Over the long term, we hope to reduce the number of our graduates who start college but don’t finish because they weren’t prepared,” Superintendent Gene Harris said.

Starting in January, 10 teachers from East, Eastmoor and North high schools will begin working with professors from Columbus State Community College, DeVry University and Ohio State University.

Together, they will plan and co-teach about 200 sophomores and juniors in English and math, two subjects that give many students trouble. The focus, at least initially, will be on standard English and math classes in those grades.

Students would not receive college credit, but they would be spared the cost and time of remedial classes after high school.

By partnering, the college professors will get a better idea of what is being taught in the high schools. The teachers will gain a better understanding of what is expected of college freshmen...

As Ky. students struggle to meet college standards, higher ed officials offer curriculum help

This from CN/2's Pure Politics:

With two out of every five Kentucky high school graduates unprepared for college in at least one core subject, Kentucky’s higher education leaders have gotten involved in helping revamp the state’s curriculum.

College leaders and the Council on Postsecondary Education have been playing behind-the-scenes roles in recasting the curriculum and helping train teachers.

Colleges know what they expect students to know when they enroll. And for the first time, Kentucky higher education officials are working directly with the school districts to make the curriculum reflects those expectations.

Starting in 2010, high school seniors were expected to meet tighter standards based on their ACT scores:
■18 in English
■19 to test into basic college math courses
■22 for college Algebra
■27 for calculus

The Council on Postsecondary Education reported that Of the ACT scores of incoming high school seniors last fall:
■39% met the English standard
■36% met the math standard

Hat tip to Sue Cain

King Clarifies Stance on ACT and College Admissions

Council on Postsecondary Education President Bob King recently offered his opinions on college admissions saying,

Historically, parents are often directed to focus on graduation rates and average GPAs as evidence of how their high school is performing. Our reports allow parents and educators to look more deeply into actual performance measured by an external, unbiased resource — the ACT exam — now required of all Kentucky students.

That drew a response from KSN&C's Skip Kifer.

Bob King, president of Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education applies the council's arbitrary standard of using a single test score to determine whether a student is ready for regular course work in Kentucky's public universities.

He implies a test score is a better predictor of grades in college than is a high school record. He then presents results from one high school that lump higher performing students (those with above-average high school records) with lower performing ones in a misguided approach to justify his position. A test score, however, does not make or break a student's readiness for higher education.

Today, King clairifed his stance in the Herald-Leader.

...Please allow me to clarify that Kentucky's colleges and universities do not rely exclusively on the ACT to make college admission or placement judgments, nor does the Council on Postsecondary Education encourage such determinations.

A student's entire record, including GPA, extracurricular activities, and other placement exams form a portfolio that allows campuses to make informed decisions on admission and placement.

The ACT serves as an important element in this consideration, but more importantly, it serves as an alarm bell in the student's secondary experience about preparation for life after high school.

This might have been a good place to stop. It acknowledges Kifer's concerns and clarifies King's stance. But King then makes allusions to "certain thresholds" in the ACT which serve to warn us if a student is not on track.

It warns of the need to take a deeper look at a student's college readiness if the scores fall below certain thresholds, but it is not the sole determinant when placing students in developmental courses... Far from arbitrary cutoff scores, there is a great deal of data from tens of millions of ACT score results upon which policy makers in Kentucky rely to set the scores used to indicate college readiness in key entry-level courses.

If the thresholds King has in mind are, in fact, a reference to ACT's benchmarks, which are inappropriately modeled, one wonders if King's effort to lay the issue to rest might draw yet another response from Kifer.

We'll see.