Studies unsure of college readiness

Many high-school graduates are anxious about the demanding classes that await them on college campuses this fall.

“I’m nervous for the work itself more than anything else,” says freshman Mallory Plaks of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

But the students themselves are not the only ones feeling insecure about whether they have had adequate preparation for the rigors of college coursework.

In fact, the issue of college readiness has been thrust into the spotlight after several recent studies cast doubt on whether high school curriculums are challenging enough.

“I don’t doubt that there are significant groups of students nationwide that could use help, even in basic skills,” says Stephen Farmer, director of undergraduate admissions.

As for UNC in particular, Farmer notes that the admissions department is fortunate enough to choose from a well-prepared group of students.

“I think individual students, however, can certainly be surprised by course expectations,” Farmer says.

The ACT Assessment, a curriculum-based college entrance exam, reported a few weeks ago that less than one-quarter of the 1.2 million high-school graduates taking the test last year met all of its college readiness benchmarks in English, math, reading comprehension and science.

ACT administrators created the benchmarks by correlating previous ACT scores with grades the same students earned at college.

The most recent test scores available at UNC are for the fall 2004 freshman class, which averaged above ACT’s benchmarks for each subject.

The average enrolling student was strongest in English, earning a 27.2 (with a benchmark of 18) and weakest in science, earning a 25.9 (with a benchmark of 24). The highest possible score for each subject area is a 36.

“At UNC it’s a little different since we’re such a competitive university,” says Bobbi Owen, senior associate dean for undergraduate education.

“Students know what they need to achieve to be here, to stay here, to graduate,” Owen says, and points out the six-year graduation rate of 81.3 percent for the class that entered in fall 1998.

“Sometimes it takes individuals to overcome obstacles,” Owen says. “And that’s where Academic Services come in — we level the playing field, fill in the potholes.”

One such service, the Summer Bridge Program, is a seven-week residential program that invites 50 to 60 in-state students to take their first math and English classes at the University.

“We target students from small schools — students from schools with a limited curriculum,” says Fred Clark, associate dean of academic services.

“The transition is probably greater for these students,” he says.

According to the ACT report, students would be more successful at college if their high-school courses hadn’t been so easy.

Those findings contradict what had been a dominant belief with education activists in recent years that high-school students were overwhelmed by their academic requirements.

Yet in more recent surveys, students report that the reality is not that they are drowning in homework, but instead are being cheated of their academic potential.

Almost nine out of 10 students would work harder in their classrooms if more was expected of them, reported the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, a nonprofit education group, in a poll released earlier this month.

In another survey by the National Governors Association, one in two high school students thought their senior year was either a “waste of time” or could have been “much more meaningful.”

But Owen says some students come to UNC unaware they haven’t been challenged as much as some of their peers.

“Sometimes students get surprised and think they got calculus but really got introduction to calculus,” he says.

Like many education issues, many people believe money, or a lack thereof, is at the heart of the college readiness problem.

“Funding seems to be sort of unequal around the state of North Carolina,” Clark says.

Sophomore Shawn Guy says his high school in Halifax had outdated books and not many computers.

Teachers weren’t always qualified, he says. For example, computer science teachers taught physical science classes.

“We were low-performing — we only had two AP (Advanced Placement) classes,” says sophomore Meloni Leathers, who attended the same school as Guy.

While some students lament about the difficulty of “weed-out” classes, Farmer emphasizes the difference between being unprepared for college and being challenged.

“It’s true of college life in general that people are surprised at the rigor required,” he says.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though, he says.

“You don’t want your first year of college to be just another year of high school.”

 

Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.