Six Ways to Improve
Students’ Preparation for College
By Jill Jenkins
According
to the Center
for Public Education, two-fifths of entering college
freshmen are not prepared for the academic rigors of college. In Utah, according to KSL News only 25% of the students graduating from high school are
actually prepared for college. The article reveals that 80% of high school
students plan to attend college, but only 40% will actually enroll. Fifty percent of that 40% will drop out after
only one year. Nationally,
35% of the students who enter college will drop out after one year and
according to the National Trust, a Washington non-profit. 63% of those who
enroll will actually earn a Bachelor Degree. Preparing students with a more rigorous
curriculum of the new Common Core is one step of preparing students to graduate
from college, but is there more we should be doing?
#1 Time in the Classroom
Many
middle school and high school teachers complain that schools spend too much
time on activities, assemblies, sport events, and helping students’ who
are behind all taking much of their instruction time. With the increased rigor of the new Common
Core Curriculum, teachers need more time to instruct their students. Because of “No Child Left Behind, activities
like Teacher Advisory classes serving only the lowest ten percent of the
students have become the focus. Teaching to the lowest common denominator
does not help those with low skills. In fact, everyone's instruction suffers.
Identifying why a specific student is struggling and addressing that problem
with remedial classes, tutoring or incentives to attend regularly is a better
approach. “Common Core Curriculum preparation and testing is another
time-consumer. Even collaboration time
which is important to develop appropriate teaching material depletes the time
that teachers so desperately need to prepare students. The answer is the administration needs to
limit the activities and programs, thus giving teaching the academic curriculum
priority over activities. School can be
fun, but not at students’ academic expense.
#2 Prepare Students with Learning
Skills
Most colleges
expect students to know how to listen
to a lecture and take notes, how to read a textbook independently and
identify the main points, how to create
a coherent composition on demand, to have mastered mathematical skills
through basic Algebra and Geometry and
to exhibit an ability to manage their
time and behavior well enough to study and complete assignments in a timely
manner. Over time, middle school and
high school teachers have virtually eliminated lecturing and note-taking
because students lack those skills and their academic grades suffer. Furthermore,
lecturing is not the most effective method to deliver instruction.
Students lose interest quickly and fall asleep or play on their cell
phones. The teachers are, in turn, badly evaluated when any student fail. Teachers and administrations need to help
students develop note-taking and listening skills by practicing them. Students need to write and read in every
discipline. They should not be
pablum-fed the material, but given independent reading and writing assignments
and given specific instruction to improve their ability to read difficult
non-fiction materials and respond to questions in well-written, coherent
essays. Students should be encouraged to
take college preparatory courses in math, science, history and language arts. Most importantly students should be given
projects where they are encouraged to plan their own time, research, write and
present before a class. Gradually
reducing the student’s reliance on the teacher will help the student become a
more independent learner. Students who
have language barriers need to have specified training to help them develop the
language skills they need to be successful.
In too many situations, schools have cut bi-lingual programs to save
money or asked teachers “to do the best you can” with a student with no
language skills assigned to a class of 35 to 40 students. This is unfair to the student developing
language skills, the teachers and rest of the class.
#3 Homework
Yes,
there is a new push to eliminate homework from K-12 schools, but if students
are going to be successful in college, they need to practice completing
homework and studying for tests at home.
Homework shouldn’t be overwhelming, but gradually should grow as the
student becomes older. By the time a
student is in middle school, he should be able to complete 20-30 minutes a
night for each of his academic classes.
This means he should expect 80 minutes to two hours of homework per
night. This homework should be relevant
and meaningful. Even though having a
part-time job teaches responsibility, keep the hours low so the student can
invest enough time on his academic career.
Athletics also should be limited to an hour after school to enable the
student to complete his academic studies.
Parents who complain need to understand that properly preparing a
student for a future will mean he/she will be able to more successfully support
himself/herself financially if that student has prepared himself/herself for the
rigors of a college education. It also
means that often students will need to select which activities they need to be
involved. No one can do everything. Still colleges look at the student’s GPA and
activities when selecting students, so by no means am I saying that all extra
curricular activities should be eliminated.
On the contrary, be selective and choose those that the student
excels. He will be happier. If he/she is successful, he could earn a
scholarship based on his participation.
#4 Financial Investment
College
is not cheap. The financial burden to an
economically strapped family can seem overwhelming. There is financial aide available:
scholarships, loans and grants. If a
student works hard, he can alleviate part of the financial burden by taking
Advanced Placement classes, concurrent enrollment (taking college classes while
completing high school courses) or completing on-line college classes while
still in high school. Keeping his grade
point average high and participating in activities like debate, drama, speech,
sports or the arts could help the student qualify for scholarships. Grants and loans are available for students
with low-income. Many teachers and
parents discourage students from applying for loans fearing that if the child
does not succeed, he/she will be overburdened with debt in a time when finding
employment can be difficult The New York Times article “Reports Shows Low
Graduation Rates at For-Profit Colleges, that
the truth is according to “Subprime
Opportunity,” only 22% of student enrolled in
private for-profit colleges graduate, compared to 55% from public colleges and
65% from private non-profit colleges. This means as a consumer, a student needs
to select his college carefully, be prepared and be willing to take a financial
risk that might increase his ability to provide his family a pathway out of
poverty. More importantly, never let a
dream be deferred.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten
meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
#5 A Map a Pathway to a Future
A good teacher helps students find the roads of their future and show
them how they might achieve them. Many
students are just afraid to leave the comfort of high school and move on to
college; many students are the first generation to attend college and their
parents’ fear of losing their child to a strange world in which they have no
experience; and many students lack the motivation to take the first steps to
their future. Whatever problem is
holding the child back, the school needs to address. Workshops for parents to introduce them to
the processes of enrolling their child in college should begin in middle school
and continue through high school.
Workshops for students about possible career choices and education
requirements for those goals should also begin in middle school. Students
who have a goal when they begin their education are more likely to finish it
successfully. Workshops for both students and parents about the financial
aide opportunities should also be available early in the process. Keeping the students and parents informed
about the student’s academic process and helping them to select courses to
prepare the child for the rigors of college should begin early in the child’s
education and continue. This means that
a well-prepared counseling center is essential for a student to become
successful. For some students language
barriers may be a deterrent; however, there are resources available and the
teacher needs to be aware of these resource and communicate them to the parent.
Many parents may believe erroneously that because their father dropped out of
school after the 8th grade and supported a family of seven as a welder, there
is no need for their child to pursue a college education; however, times have
changed. Most of the jobs that only
require a high school education have gone overseas and opportunities for
students without any education do not exist.
If a student is going to earn enough money to support a family, he/she
needs some form of post-high school education.
If a student is planning on living comfortably, he/she needs a college
degree. To help the parents understand
this, schools need to begin communicating this message in elementary school
especially in the lower economic neighborhoods.
#6 A Time and a Place
Finally,
this is the tide of affairs in young students’ lives when the decisions they
make affect them more than any other time, yet one of greatest distractions for
students is the euphoria of youth.
Students love to socialize. Many
times that means alcohol, drugs, unprotected sexual intercourse and any number
of nonsensical, dangerous behaviors. This lack of self-control has caused more
than one student to drop out after one year of college. College is an expensive undertaking and
students need to understand that many students throughout the world would love
to have their place at that college.
They are competing with every other student in the world for an
education. The world has become much
smaller. This means their opportunities
could be snatched away by a student more motivated to study than play. Although they have watched countless movies
about teenagers sent to college for a mad romp, they need to understand that
those are just movies; they are not real.
The reality is if they settle down and concentrate, if they accept
delayed gratification, they can have a richer more prosperous life.
