College Skills Found Lacking

<p>From the NYT, Aug. 17, 2005:</p>

<p>'"Only about half of this year's high school graduates have the reading skills they need to succeed in college and even fewer are prepared for college-level science and math courses, according to a yearly report from ACT, which produces one the nation's leading college admission tests.</p>

<p>The report, based on scores of the 2005 high school graduates who took the exam, some 1.2 million students in all, also found that fewer than 1 in 4 met the college-readiness benchmarks in all four subjects tested: reading comprehension, English, math and science."</p>

<p>Is that the entire article? I honestly have to agree with it to an extent. In high school I remember when the teacher asked students to read out aloud from whatever book we were reading and discussing at the time as a class, and there were some slow reading people. And these were college prep classes. Maybe I should have been in honors....:/ It was almost painful. Is it normal for a 3 year old to sound out syllables when they are learning to read? Yes. Normal for a high school student? Eh...no.</p>

<p>No, there's more. Perhaps someone else can provide the link, though one needs to register to access the article.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/17/education/17scores.html"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/17/education/17scores.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Many Going to College Aren't Ready, Report Finds</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/17/education/17scores.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/17/education/17scores.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Only about half of this year's high school graduates have the reading skills they need to succeed in college, and even fewer are prepared for college-level science and math courses, according to a yearly report from ACT, which produces one of the nation's leading college admissions tests. </p>

<p>The report, based on scores of the 2005 high school graduates who took the exam, some 1.2 million students in all, also found that fewer than one in four met the college-readiness benchmarks in all four subjects tested: reading comprehension, English, math and science. </p>

<p>"It is very likely that hundreds of thousands of students will have a disconnect between their plans for college and the cold reality of their readiness for college," Richard L. Ferguson, chief executive of ACT, said in an online news conference yesterday.</p>

<p>ACT sets its college-readiness benchmarks - including the reading comprehension benchmark, which is new this year - by correlating earlier students' ACT scores with grades they actually received as college freshmen. Based on that data, the benchmarks indicate the skill level at which a student has a 70 percent likelihood of earning a C or better, and a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better.</p>

<p>
[quote]
In fact, only 56 percent of this year's graduates who took the ACT had completed the recommended core curriculum for college-bound students: four years of English and three years each of social studies, science and math at the level of algebra or higher. Those who do complete the core curriculum are far more likely to meet college readiness standards, Dr. Ferguson said, but the percentage who complete that core has been falling. "The message doesn't seem to be getting though," he said.

[/quote]
It seems sadly predictable that if you don't take the prerequisite courses, you won't be able to handle the next step. So, who's responsible for this glaring failure? How can only 56% of college bound students have taken the basics in HS? What were they doing? What were their parents, teachers, and school boards doing?</p>

<p>I read it in our local paper, The Morning Call, but cannot find a link for it from their website either.</p>

<p>Sometimes I wonder with students wanting to "fast track" through high school, taking tons of AP courses as early as freshman year and not really getting a foundation in the basics is also contibuting to this lack of readiness </p>

<p>In addition, many schools are hard pressed to teach to the test or to ensure that they are meeting standards, are they really even taking the time to teach the basics</p>

<p>One of the migrating problems associated with this problem is that colleges are then compelled to offer remedial courses which folks are paying for with high cost tuition dollars......this uses college resources to serve the low end of the spectrum. Some state schools are now making the remedial courses available at community colleges so in the end the consumer is paying higher cost for what didn't happen in the HS or Middle School.</p>

<p>Sybbie:</p>

<p>I doubt that fast tracking and taking APs is the root of the problem.. More likely, as Bluealien recounted, students enter high school and take college prep courses but read at grade 6 level or even below.</p>

<p>Is this problem reflected in the scores on critical reading? While I am not surprised about the ACT for it is many times used in more rural communities....perhaps they have lower standards. I am curious about the critical reading scores on standardized exams.</p>

<p>Hazmat:</p>

<p>Here are the scores</p>

<p>Subject test/benchmark/% meeting benchmark
English / 16 / 68
reading / 21 / 51
math / 22 / 41
science / 24/ 26
All 4 / /21</p>

<p>I just knew you would be on this~ it does look bad doesn't it?</p>

<p>It seems to me that the message here is more about changes in the college bound demographics than any deterioration in preparation. A substantial portion of high school graduates are not ready or maybe even able to succeed in college. That is not something new. What is changing is the opportunity and necessity of going to college. Many jobs that one could qualify for in the past with just a high school diploma now require a college degree. Many students who in the past would have been discouraged from considering college are now urged to attend. In many districts technical and vocational programs have been gutted as more resources are dedicated to college prep for all. College is becoming the path of least resistance for many students. </p>

<p>Don't get me wrong, I think that public schools should be providing all with the opportunity to build an academic foundation capable of supporting college level classes. I just don't think that the PC idea that with the right preparation everyone but the profoundly learning disabled can go on to college and succeed is realistic or wise. A shocking percent of those starting college fail to finish. Degree inflation is making a bachelors degree worth not much more than the high school diploma of 30 years ago. I can't help thinking that when all us college grads need a plumber in 10 years the s*** is going to literally hit the fan!</p>

<p>I think you are saying that more kids are in the college prep curriculum and probably shouldn't be. The current PC atmosphere being that "everyone" should attend college has forced inclusion of students who shouldn't be in the cue. While not questioning your premise I wonder how it is that some 50% of the kids do so poorly. Are you saying that the poor achievers is the percentage you would expect??</p>

<p>In my opinion it isn't important that everyone have the capacity to be a rocket scientist.Technology and the academic community are global today. We do need roofers and kitchen remodelers and auto mechanics. However, it is important everyone be educated in the U.S. . If you have grown children you may recall in the 1970's-early 1980's that Sesame Street had a great preoccupation in making pre school children into early readers. (Or at least give kids that exposure.) Now on that show, there is much more of a focus on teaching children to all work together, accept each other, and get along. Tests scores are not as important as becoming a 'better thinker'.</p>

<p>Here is the whole article for those who have not registered:</p>

<p>
[quote]
Many Going to College Are Not Ready, Report Says
By TAMAR LEWIN</p>

<p>Only about half of this year's high school graduates have the reading skills they need to succeed in college, and even fewer are prepared for college-level science and math courses, according to a yearly report from ACT, which produces one of the nation's leading college admissions tests.</p>

<p>The report, based on scores of the 2005 high school graduates who took the exam, some 1.2 million students in all, also found that fewer than one in four met the college-readiness benchmarks in all four subjects tested: reading comprehension, English, math and science.</p>

<p>"It is very likely that hundreds of thousands of students will have a disconnect between their plans for college and the cold reality of their readiness for college," Richard L. Ferguson, chief executive of ACT, said in an online news conference yesterday.</p>

<p>ACT sets its college-readiness benchmarks - including the reading comprehension benchmark, which is new this year - by correlating earlier students' ACT scores with grades they actually received as college freshmen. Based on that data, the benchmarks indicate the skill level at which a student has a 70 percent likelihood of earning a C or better, and a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better.</p>

<p>Among those who took the 2005 test, only 51 percent achieved the benchmark in reading, 26 percent in science, and 41 percent in math; the figure for English was 68 percent. Results from the new optional ACT writing test, which was not widely taken this year, were not included in the report.</p>

<p>About 40 percent of the nation's 2005 high school graduates took the ACT, and the average overall score, 20.9 of a possible 36, was unchanged from the year before. But Dr. Ferguson found it heartening that scores were holding even, given that the pool of test takers had become so much larger and more diverse, in part because both Illinois and Colorado now use the ACT to test all students, even those who do not see themselves as college-bound.</p>

<p>Minority students now make up 27 percent of all ACT test takers, up from 24 percent in the class of 2001. The number of Hispanic test takers has grown 40 percent in that period, and the number of African-American test takers 23 percent. Caucasians taking the test have increased by only 2 percent.</p>

<p>"It's wonderful that more and more students who might not have considered college several years ago are now making plans for education beyond high school," Dr. Ferguson said.</p>

<p>But it is a source of concern, he said, that too many students are not taking the kind of rigorous high school courses that will prepare them for college. In fact, only 56 percent of this year's graduates who took the ACT had completed the recommended core curriculum for college-bound students: four years of English and three years each of social studies, science and math at the level of algebra or higher.</p>

<p>Those who do complete the core curriculum are far more likely to meet college readiness standards, Dr. Ferguson said, but the percentage who complete that core has been falling.</p>

<p>"The message doesn't seem to be getting though," he said.</p>

<p>The ACT report highlighted other worrisome trends as well, including a continuing decline in the percentage of students planning to major in engineering, computer science and education.</p>

<p>And at a time when more women than men go to college, Dr. Ferguson said, it is also a matter of concern that 56 percent of this year's graduates who took the ACT were female, and only 44 percent male. As in previous years, men had higher average math and science scores, and women higher averages scores in English and reading.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I understand about trade skills. Are you saying that you wish HS offered more diverse opportunity rather than cramming all into college prep? Of course every economy needs a diversity of skills and businesses. I am not sure whether you are saying that one cannot choose to become a roofer, open one's own roofing business and still have a college degree.</p>

<p>In re-reading the article note that last line:</p>

<p>
[quote]
men had higher average math and science scores, and women higher averages scores in English and reading

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Perhaps Larry Summers should have referenced this data and asked what the data means. Because it shows a bias both for and against men and women perhaps he could have created a better environment for discussion. Though no one could argue that the topic has not been discussed since he brought it up.</p>

<p>A separate interesting sidenote to this, men had higher averages for both sections of the old SAT. Referring back to the "Are adcoms telling the truth about ACT scores?" thread, I wonder how this information is explained or accounted for in the concordance tables.</p>

<p>I think DVMMOM makes a really good point above about the changing demographics. Not that it takes the parents and school districts off the hook for sending unprepared HS students off to college.</p>