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Allyson McDowell Current Issue
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=7363
Title of Article: Schools aren’t preparing kids for college
Publisher: eSchool News
Date of Publication: 9/13/2007
Author: Meris Stansbury
Summary of article
The Alliance for Excellent Education convened a panel to discuss the disconnect that exists between the preparedness of high school students for future success, with an emphasis on college readiness and 21st Century skills.
This article talks about the lack of skills and knowledge that is needed by high school students who seek entry to college. This article has tied it findings into the No Child Left Behind Act, and echoes the findings of The Perfect Storm.
They are looking into revised assessments for college readiness and different teaching methods to encourage 21st Century learning. The importance of this issue is also stressed on good-paying jobs. The Ford Motor Company was used as an example.
The panelists stated that the problems come from high school standards, assessments and course requirements that are not aligned with colleges. ACT states that only 34 percent of students graduate from high school ready for college with a smaller number for minorities. Overall 18 percent of high school freshmen graduate in four years and go on to college. One third of these graduates who make it to college are required to take remedial courses which costs the nation more than $1.4 billion every year at community colleges alone.
AEE has outlined definitions for college readiness as “knowledge and skills with remediation” and a four part definition by ACT as “habits of mind, key content knowledge, academic behaviors and contextual skills”
These two panelists feel that teachers need to motivate students as one of the important steps. All the panelists agreed that to achieve this level of education teachers need support and ongoing professional development among other incentives.
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