Maine Considers Making College or Vocational Application Mandatory For Graduation

Parent Cafe
1

<p>
[quote]
Beginning next year, Maine might become the first state to tell its students they must fill out a college or other application for postsecondary training before they can receive a high school diploma. </p>

<p>“We are asking every high school student, not just a few, to give serious thought to their own futures and the opportunities they can create for themselves,” Rep. Glenn Cummings, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement. </p>

<p>Speaker Cummings, a Democrat, modeled his proposal on a similar policy in place at Poland Regional High School in Poland, Maine. The school goes further than the state legislation would, requiring all students not only to complete but also to submit college applications in order to graduate. As a result, Poland Regional High has seen its college-going rates nearly double, according to Tim Feeley, a spokesman for Mr. Cummings. </p>

<p>Mr. Cummings is hoping the measure might produce similar results statewide. Maine ranks last among the New England states in college-degree attainment. Just 49 percent of the state’s high school graduates entered college in the fall of 2004, compared with 59 percent in the region, according to the Maine Compact for Higher Education. </p>

<hr>

<p>No state has made completing an application for postsecondary education a graduation requirement for all its students, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. </p>

<p>The measure would permit the Maine Department of Education to encourage students to complete applications for college, the military, and other postsecondary opportunities. Susan A. Gendron, the state education commissioner, has said she planned to use the rulemaking process to make the application idea a requirement, said David A. Connerty-Marin, a spokesman for the department. </p>

<p>The measure has won preliminary approval in both houses of the Maine legislature, and both are expected to give final approval soon. Gov. John E. Baldacci, a Democrat, is expected to sign the measure when the legislature adjourns, as it’s scheduled to do next month, Mr. Feeley said.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The article above is from Education Week, which requires registration to see the article, so I don't have a link, but the full story is there.</p>

<p>However, one school who has implemented a requirement for seniors to fill out a college application (they were not, however, required to submit it) had an article written upon the confusion/controversy it stirred up:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/9C4CD5FFC126168A052572EC005561E8?Opendocument%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/9C4CD5FFC126168A052572EC005561E8?Opendocument&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
This is the first year that Mt. Ararat seniors must fill out a common college application as part of the advisory program to get their caps and gowns. To be eligible to take part in this year's graduation ceremony, students must fill out either the Maine University or Community College system common applications. The school does not require that students submit the applications to a college or university.</p>

<p>Neither Katie Tracy and Holly Towe, friends in the same adviser's group, had completed an application when they say they learned of the requirement earlier this month. According to their adviser, English teacher Linda Baker, she only found out about the requirement on May 2 during a department meeting. Baker then told her advisees that they would have to complete the common application if they want to participate in the June 10 graduation exercises for the class of 2007.

[/quote]
</p>

2

<p>college isn't for everyone....this strikes me as pretty silly</p>

3

<p>It's not just college, but all "postsecondary training" as well.</p>

4

<p>some people will just fill out half assed applications then. It won't change much</p>

5

<p>Poor idea. Who pays for the applications and the extra costs in the program- eg insuring compliance? Some students need to work before they are ready for more education, others, eg special ed students, may only be able to finish HS. Not a way to encourage me to move to Maine. Are the Maine post HS college etc rates that much below the other states?</p>

6

<p>
[quote]
Are the Maine post HS college etc rates that much below the other states?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The HS graduation rates in Maine are high, but college matriculation rates disproportionately low. Closing that gap is part of the idea; it was the same factor that drove the requirement that all juniors in ME take the SAT, a program that had real costs, compared to the relatively negligible costs of this one. (There's a recent thread on the SAT requirement.) </p>

<p>The results of the trial test are fairly stunning. Many Maine students are low-income and would be first-generation; the idea is to urge some of them thinking that they're college material by taking standardized tests and learning about the college application process, a push they may not be getting at home.</p>

7

<p>I think that this is offensive to students who have made a well-considered decision to join the military. It implies that their choice is wrong.</p>

8

<p>Actually I think this is a very well thought-out idea. Maine already has plenty of low-income jobs. Why not encourage HS students to further both their education and their prospects for better jobs within their home state? I agree that college isn't for everyone, but is filling out a college application any more burdensome that filling out a job application (or for that matter filling out the required student information card for kindergardeners)?</p>

9

<p>The post-secondary schools will have to process reams of applications from people who have no current intention of continuing their education.</p>

10

<p>The kids who otherwise wouldn't apply will end up goofing off and applying to Harvard or something, just for the heck of it. I don't see how this will solve the problem.</p>

11

<p>will those only lower the acceptance rates of schools in Maine, thus, improving their rankings</p>

12

<p>nooooooooooo!!! it will give less value towards having a BA :(!!</p>

13

<p>Makes sense to me. While some students will blow it off, some students who wouldn't otherwise either go to college or vocational school will end up doing so, and will greatly raise their employability and living standards as a result.</p>

<p>Truth is that in today's society, to be able to support oneself, some kind of post high school education or training is necessary, so the policy that Maine is considering would be an excellent way to help ensure students' becoming eligible for jobs that will keep them off welfare.</p>

14

<p>At first blush it looks silly, but I think there are lots of kids who wrongly think they are not college material and might think again if they are accepted somewhere. Our HS GC's work with every senior to develop a post-grad plan, not always college, but something. I think that, at least, is a great idea. Eighteen is too young for most kids to "wing it" and often choices are made. that limit further options (pregnancy, etc.)</p>

15

<p>It's important to also realize that there are lots of parents who don't know about how to help their kids get into college or into vocational schools. There are families in which several generations have been supported by welfare, and that's the only system that the parents can teach their kids to navigate. There are communities and neighborhoods in which no one has gone to college or had post secondary vocational training.</p>

<p>By having to apply to college or vocational school, teens in such families and areas will learn about options that otherwise they may never have realized they could participate in.</p>

16

<p>Northstarmom nails the issue. Maine has a low college rate for the northeast, I believe the lowest in the area. Yet it has strong high school graduation rates and very good K-12 math and reading scores. Low college attendance has an impact on incomes and the state's economy.</p>

<p>Last year Maine started paying for taking the SAT and this has had an impact on encouraging students to go on past high school.</p>

17

<p>Also, some families discourage their children from applying to college. My son has a friend who was in that category. Parents were tapped out from kiddo #1, so they encouraged their 2nd child to apply to a vocational program. He did not take the SATs junior year. I believe that there was some pressure put on him by his hs, and he did end up taking the last SAT test possible for submitting scores in his senior year. He then did apply to colleges. He did not get any family help in filling out the fafsa, so he did not get any financial aid (he tried to fill out the form, but made apparently made many errors). He did not go to college (he has been out of school for a year so far). He has dreams of going to a vocational school, but it is extremely expensive too. I don't know if his family will help pay for it. He would not be able to manage the cost on his own. He currently earns $7 per hour.</p>

18

<p>Who is going to do the low wage jobs if everyone in the US goes to college or trade school? Will we have more immigrants? Low wage jobs aren't going to magically disappear if there is no one left to do them. Will it soon take a college degree to be a waiter? Already, it seems like a lot of people are paying big bucks for a college degree only to end up working as a clerk somewhere. Trade school isn't always the answer, either. Sometimes tradesmen can learn more from an apprenticeship than trade school.</p>

19

<p>"Who is going to do the low wage jobs if everyone in the US goes to college or trade school? "</p>

<p>Many such jobs are disappearing anyway because of things like automatic tellers, customer operated cashiers, etc. There are predictions that everyone will need some post high school education or training to get a job.</p>

<p>Anyway, people who work low wage jobs can't support themselves anyway. They have to rely on things like food stamps. They have no health insurance. It would be better if such people could find jobs offering better pay and benefits.</p>

20

<p>Seems to me they would get better results by offering scholarships (to college, trade school, or other training) to every Maine student than by simply requiring an application to be filled out. The former is real help; the latter might be seen as "wink, wink, nod, nod."</p>

<p>I don't have the figures, but college attendance in Georgia is said to be way up after instituting a program of scholarships to Ga. HS graduates. It's called the HOPE scholarship.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dtae.org/hope.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dtae.org/hope.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>