High school students unprepared for college
Adam Coulter, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 5/5/08 Section: News
As the world continues to evolve and entry-level positions and opportunities for career advancement in the job market become more competitive, a college education and related training will carry more weight than ever for students.
But according to a statewide study released this month, Massachusetts high school graduates are starting the race a step behind.
The study and subsequent reports highlight concerns that the state's public schools aren't doing enough to prepare all their students for college course work. Consequently, because of the student's lack of basic skills in such subjects as English and math, they're forced to take remedial classes, which don't count towards a degree and have higher numbers of drop-outs.
Patrick Ashline, a freshman astronomy major, believes there is something public schools can do better to prepare high school students.
"One thing would be to put more weight and importance on exams in high school, and to take a stronger academic stance," he said.
The report states that the problem is particularly heightened in urban districts and vocational schools, and details five high schools in Boston and Worcester where at least 70 percent of students were forced to take at least one remedial class because of scoring poorly on college placement tests. At the University of Massachusetts, the main problem students arrive with is a lack of writing skills.
"In general I don't think there is enough writing and thinking; there are some really great students here that get stuck with simple writing, for example, on scholarship essays," said Susan Whitbourne, professor of psychology.
The report was conducted jointly by the state Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education and Higher Education. They found that the problem isn't centered in any one particular area and it crosses socioeconomic lines.
At UMass, the SAT scores of men and women have stayed relatively level. According to the Admissions Fact Book detailing SAT scores and high school grade point averages for entering first-year students from fall 1998 through fall 2007, the mean average for females in 1998 was 1099 and males was 1151. The scores in the fall of 2007 were 1120 and 1167 for women and men, respectively. The study tracked more than 19,000 students who graduated from public schools in 2005 and went on to higher education.
The debate also enters the arena of whether public or private high schools are better able to prepare graduates.
"I think it depends on the private school," said Ashline. "There are some private schools that are designed to provide a greater environment for helping students to succeed in college."
"Students here should go back to their high schools and be ambassadors. We want schools to not only send the best students, we want to attract a wide range," said Whitbourne. "We don't want to just get you here, we want to keep you here and show that we can deliver."
Adam Coulter can be reached at apcoulte@student.umass.edu.
But according to a statewide study released this month, Massachusetts high school graduates are starting the race a step behind.
The study and subsequent reports highlight concerns that the state's public schools aren't doing enough to prepare all their students for college course work. Consequently, because of the student's lack of basic skills in such subjects as English and math, they're forced to take remedial classes, which don't count towards a degree and have higher numbers of drop-outs.
Patrick Ashline, a freshman astronomy major, believes there is something public schools can do better to prepare high school students.
"One thing would be to put more weight and importance on exams in high school, and to take a stronger academic stance," he said.
The report states that the problem is particularly heightened in urban districts and vocational schools, and details five high schools in Boston and Worcester where at least 70 percent of students were forced to take at least one remedial class because of scoring poorly on college placement tests. At the University of Massachusetts, the main problem students arrive with is a lack of writing skills.
"In general I don't think there is enough writing and thinking; there are some really great students here that get stuck with simple writing, for example, on scholarship essays," said Susan Whitbourne, professor of psychology.
The report was conducted jointly by the state Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education and Higher Education. They found that the problem isn't centered in any one particular area and it crosses socioeconomic lines.
At UMass, the SAT scores of men and women have stayed relatively level. According to the Admissions Fact Book detailing SAT scores and high school grade point averages for entering first-year students from fall 1998 through fall 2007, the mean average for females in 1998 was 1099 and males was 1151. The scores in the fall of 2007 were 1120 and 1167 for women and men, respectively. The study tracked more than 19,000 students who graduated from public schools in 2005 and went on to higher education.
The debate also enters the arena of whether public or private high schools are better able to prepare graduates.
"I think it depends on the private school," said Ashline. "There are some private schools that are designed to provide a greater environment for helping students to succeed in college."
"Students here should go back to their high schools and be ambassadors. We want schools to not only send the best students, we want to attract a wide range," said Whitbourne. "We don't want to just get you here, we want to keep you here and show that we can deliver."
Adam Coulter can be reached at apcoulte@student.umass.edu.
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