By 2014-15, many K-12 education systems should be able to adopt new state assessments after working to implement new state standards for student learning in English Language Arts and Mathematics. ...]]>

From a higher education perspective, new "Common Core" standards could improve student college-readiness levels, reduce institutional remediation rates and close education gaps in and between states.

By 2014-15, many K-12 education systems should be able to adopt new state assessments after working to implement new state standards for student learning in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Many state higher education systems are also preparing for this new era of public education that has been building since 2009 by looking at “gateway” or credit-bearing entry-level course curricula and placement policies for students who may need remediation.

In 2009, 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia signed a memorandum of agreement with the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers to commit to a state-led process for developing K-12 education standards aligned with higher education and workforce expectations, also known as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The agreement led to the development of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics. Since then, 45 of the original 48 states have adopted the standards and are in the process of implementing them across K-12 education through teacher professional development and new state assessments.

As a national initiative to create common educational standards for students across multiple states, the CCSS represent a new chapter in American education. In keeping with the tradition of state and local control over education policy, this initiative was driven by state governors and state education commissioners across the country. Participating states committed to improving college- and career-readiness rates at a time when international comparisons showed the U.S. lagging behind in educational performance, college attendance and degree attainment. For example:

• On the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), U.S. 15-year-olds in 2009 fared about average with their counterparts in other industrialized countries and below average in math. The U.S. ranked 14^th in reading, 17^th in science and 25^th in math—and performed far behind many countries including South Korea, Finland and Canada.
• The U.S. also now ranks ninth in the world in the proportion of young adults enrolled in college and has fallen from first to 16^th in the world in its share of certificates and degrees awarded to adults ages 25-34.

CCSS supporters often see the standards as one strategy for raising U.S. educational performance. According to the conservative Fordham Institute, the CCSS in both English Language Arts and Mathematics expect more of students than a majority of the state K-12 standards in place before the CCSS was developed and adopted. In addition, common standards across states provide a framework for preparing students beyond high school. From a higher education perspective, these new standards could improve student college-readiness levels, reduce institutional remediation rates down the road and close education gaps in and between states.

While promising and admirable, the CCSS have come under fire in many states as the implementation process wears on. During this past legislative session, for example, states have passed measures to postpone, require additional public debate or eliminate state funding to implement the standards. Even in states where such efforts were unsuccessful, the CCSS are a volatile topic with parents, teachers, higher education faculty and states’ rights groups rallying fears of federal intrusion.

Yet, the CCSS are neither a federally mandated curriculum nor a prescription for operating a classroom. The CCSS are rather grade-level expectations of what students are expected to learn. It is up to states and school districts to implement the standards and develop accompanying curricula that align to the standards.

The PBS program Frontline has run comprehensive coverage on the evolution of U.S. education standards.

If more states postpone or overturn the implementation of these new standards, the U.S. risks stalling in the current educational status quo or falling further behind international benchmarks. The implementation of these new educational standards for students is challenging enough as it is (see NEBHE Bites Into the Core).

It’s hard to see CCSS succeeding without higher education. In particular, awareness and support from the higher education community is needed in two areas: 1) assessing post-CCSS students’ college readiness and 2) teacher preparation.

Assessing college readiness

States that adopted the CCSS will administer new state assessments to measure students’ mastery of the standards. Funded in part by a 2010 grant of $330 million from the U.S. Department of Education, these assessments are being developed by two state-led assessment consortia: the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. In New England, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont joined the Smarter Balanced consortium, while Massachusetts and Rhode Island are PARCC member states. Offered in both elementary school and high school, these new assessments may replace the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) in Massachusetts and the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) exam in the other New England states.

The higher education sector has been integral to the assessment design process for both consortia, particularly at the high school level. While not necessarily designed to be high-stakes assessments, some states and districts plan to use the high school assessment results to measure teacher effectiveness in addition to school and district accountability. The later high school assessment will also have “college-ready scores” in mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy that will signal readiness for college gateway courses in English and math.

As described by Melinda Treadwell, the provost of Keene State College, the CCSS and correlated assessments target the “critical minimum essentials” in terms of gauging the “domains that are key for college and life, namely critical thinking and analytical skills.”

Alison Jones, vice president of postsecondary collaboration at PARCC, said the assessment results will identify students who are not college ready and who need additional remediation by “helping postsecondary institutions make informed decisions about curriculum design and alignment, and the provision of academic services. … Community colleges could also use the results along with high schools to provide early interventions before students leave for postsecondary education.”

Moving forward, higher education institutions should consider:

• What assessments are currently used to place students into (or out of) remedial coursework?
• Can the new CCSS assessments be one of multiple measures used to determine students’ college readiness?
• How will the CCSS assessment be used in the college admissions process, if at all?

Teacher preparation

In addition to college readiness, higher education has an important role to play in teacher readiness. The next generation of teachers has to be better prepared to enable students to meet the new expectations of the CCSS. Several New England states have recently embarked on efforts to realign teacher-preparation programs. Rhode Island, for example, has worked with PARCC to host a state meeting that addresses how the CCSS will drive changes in teacher preparation in mathematics. Deborah Grossman-Garber, associate commissioner for academic planning and policy for the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, said the agency has funded a number of projects to enhance the understanding of the CCSS among teacher-preparation faculty.

In New Hampshire, similar work is underway with joint conferences for K-20 faculty as well as math and science partnership grants for college faculty to deliver professional development to incumbent teachers. “We built teaching teams of elementary, middle and high school teachers with a college faculty member to take apart domains within the Common Core to develop better and more effective teaching strategies,” said Treadwell of Keene State.

Other states and schools of education should consider how their teacher-preparation programs align with the CCSS. For example, are teachers prepared to help students determine an author’s point of view in a text and evaluate any claims made by the author? Are they prepared to develop mathematical reasoning skills so that students can compute mathematical problems and then conceptualize whether or not the answer makes sense?

Looking to the future

Institutional leaders, college faculty and state education leaders all have a role to play moving forward. As Jones of PARCC said, “regardless of what the college president or chancellor may say, if the faculty doesn’t have faith and confidence in the college-readiness scores that are ultimately set for placing students into credit-bearing courses, they are not going to be supportive.”

Jacqueline King, director of higher education collaboration at Smarter Balanced, concurred, “State and institutional stakeholders must collaborate for successful implementation of the CCSS and the college-ready assessments.”

The feeling is shared by at least some in New England’s higher education community. “It’s an invaluable opportunity for meaningful conversations with K-12 partners about what college readiness really means,” said Treadwell.

Building upon this initial understanding and support for the standards and college-ready assessments will be even more important in the coming months. The debate about the CCSS assessments is hardly over. More state legislatures in the next legislative season will consider measures to delay, defund or simply stop the implementation of the CCSS. Still other states will withdraw or debate whether to withdraw from the assessment consortia.

Things may get especially dicey when the first sets of student scores are released after the initial assessment slated for 2014-15. Based on the experience when MCAS and NECAP were first administered, the results may be discouraging and even troubling if student results are lower than expected. But change takes time—perhaps even more time than the crafters of the CCSS and common assessments envisioned—to deeply implement the standards in schools across the nation and prepare students to take the assessments.

As a P-20 education community, we should stay the course and support schools and school district leaders and teachers in raising expectations and helping students meet the challenges of being college and career ready. From adopting the CCSS assessment results as one measure for determining a student placement into credit-bearing courses to collaborating across education sectors in teacher preparation, we must expect more from our students and ourselves.

Monnica Chan is director of policy & research at NEBHE.  Stafford Peat, NEBHE senior consultant along with Ashley Perzyna and Yinan Zhang, former NEBHE Policy Research Interns and recent graduates from Harvard Graduate School of Education provided research support for this article.

The enigmatic term "college readiness" is increasingly used in education and policy environments across the country. While school-university partnerships, school-community initiatives and state and federal legislation have shown promise in preparing students for college study, a common definition of the term remains elusive, and many students are still underprepared for college-level coursework. For ...]]>

Updated August 2012

The enigmatic term "college readiness" is increasingly used in education and policy environments across the country. While school-university partnerships, school-community initiatives and state and federal legislation have shown promise in preparing students for college study, a common definition of the term remains elusive, and many students are still underprepared for college-level coursework. For its College Readiness figures, NEBHE continues to use commonly cited indicators of college readiness to provide one perspective on New England students' preparation and interests in postsecondary education.

Recent data show:

• Slightly over four in 10 high school seniors have "college-ready" transcripts across the New England states; even so, New England students on average perform above the national norm on various indicators of college readiness.

• Each school day, New England high schools "lose" 192 students.

Figure CR 1: Indicators of College Readiness: A State-by State Comparison

Click on the chart to enlarge.

Notes: New Hampshire has no distinct state preschool programs. NAEP Achievement Levels represent the percentage of students that scored proficient on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exams. In order to have a "College-Ready Transcript," students must have taken at least four years of English, three years of math, and two years of natural science, social science and foreign language before graduating from high school. In the class of 2011, 18% of public high school graduates participated in AP and earned at least one AP Exam score of 3 or higher. The PSAT/NMSQT College Readiness Benchmark represents the score a student should meet or exceed to be considered on track to be college ready.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; National Institute for Early Education Research; Editorial Projects in Education Research Center; The College Board; National Center for Higher Education Management Systems; Kids Count / Annie E. Casey Foundation; National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP); The Manhattan Institute For more information on how college ready benchmarks were established a research report is available from The College Board, PSAT/NMSQT Indicators of College Readiness.

Figure CR 2: Projection of High School Graduates and Nongraduates in New England and the U.S., 2010-11

Click on the chart to enlarge.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of Editorial Project in Education (EPE) Research Center data, Diplomas Count 2011.

Figure CR 3: Percent of High School Graduates Enrolling in College Immediately, 2010

Click on the chart to enlarge.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data and National Center for Education Statistics data.

Figure CR 4: Migration of First-Time Freshmen to and from New England, 2010

Click on the chart to enlarge.

Source: New England Board of Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.

Figure CR 5: Intended College Majors of College-Bound Seniors in New England, 2011

Click on the chart to enlarge.

Source: The College Board.

>>Back to Trends & Indicators

Maine’s Skowhegan ...]]>

Maine has been focusing on the importance of postsecondary training. As the Maine Department of Education’s Pre-K-16 Task Force noted: “To guarantee a more promising future for Maine youth and to ensure economic vitality in our state, we need to dramatically increase the number of citizens with either an associate or a baccalaureate degree.”

Maine’s Skowhegan Area High School (SAHS) and Somerset Career and Technical Center (SCTC) have partnered in a Multiple Pathways initiative (funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation) to increase students’ high school completion rate and to increase enrollment in postsecondary education of their graduates. Integral to these goals is ensuring that all students graduate with skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education, careers and civic engagement. According to the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, these skills include literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, communications, collaboration and creativity.

Though a major goal for the project is to increase the high school graduation rate, the Multiple Pathways vision applies to students from a cross-section of achievement levels. Through engaging, in-depth learning, the project seeks to advance all students' attitudes and skills.

Implementing multiple pathways

Drawing from Multiple Pathways frameworks, in 2009, SAHS and SCTS began planning the campuswide initiative. SAHS is a regional high school serving six communities and led by a principal. SCTC is located on the SAHS campus but is a distinct school serving juniors and seniors from SAHS and four other high schools. It is led by a director.

A major part of this Multiple Pathways initiative is to move toward more cooperation between SCTC and SAHS. In this way, students’ perceptions of the relevance of their academic subjects could increase, through connections made to career/technical subjects. Also, pathways might be created for students to fulfill part or all of an academic class’s requirements through participation in a career/technical class, as long as required academic standards are achieved.

Some students attend SAHS classes, focused on academic objectives, as well as SCTC classes, focused on career and technical skills. If a high school teacher has a student who doesn’t understanding a math concept, for example, a carpentry instructor might be able to show the student how the math relates to carpentry or architecture.

Goals also include incorporating more learning activities that capture students’ interest, while maintaining academic rigor, ensuring students gain 21^st Century Skills, and increasing connections with community, business and higher education partners.

The first step in this partnership was a Multiple Pathways workshop in summer 2009. Faculty from both schools identified possible Multiple Pathways projects. During the 2009-10 planning year, educators from SAHS and SCTC visited Searsport High School to see its program incorporating students’ interests and standards-based learning.

In June 2010, a Multiple Pathways Administrative Liaison was hired to help communicate about Multiple Pathways. Two summer workshops were held to discuss how to achieve a more integrated SCTC/SAHS campus. Faculty and staff created a draft campus mission statement that was edited later that summer at a third, smaller meeting of faculty and staff. This mission was later adopted by the faculty and staff in fall 2010.

In September, faculty who attended the summer workshops, related goals and activities planned at the workshops, to the rest of the faculty, and launched a monthly Multiple Pathways newsletter emphasizing learning experiences faculty provide for students.

In October, faculty met to share their projects aligned with Multiple Pathways goals—both projects newly devised and projects in which they had been involved before the grant. A public relations company, Encompass, was contracted to help get the word out to the larger community about SCTC’s programs and the Multiple Pathways initiative. A Multiple Pathways Advisory Board—consisting of students, faculty, parent, district administrators, school board members, business and community leaders, and statewide education leaders—met to discuss the progress of the initiative. Follow-up meetings were planned to identify community resources with which Multiple Pathways learning activities can connect.

In December 2010, a new staff position, Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator, was created to work towards increasing the availability of engaging, personalized learning experiences for students, for which high school credits can be granted.

Multiple pathways projects

The number and variety of Multiple Pathways projects at SAHS/SCTC continues to grow. The current projects include the following:

Senior Tech Math Math teacher Jodi Abbott designed a class that incorporates students’ career interests into the curriculum. The second semester of the course will count as the equivalent of a Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) math class; if students pass it, they will receive three college math credits tuition-free.

Sustainable Gardening Students, faculty and staff visited Unity College’s student-run organic garden where they interacted with Unity College students, faculty and staff, asking questions and discussing garden plans. A garden site on our campus has been prepared for planting, which is scheduled for spring 2011. Students, faculty, administration, higher education staff, local farmers, community members, district staff and Town of Skowhegan staff are involved in the planning.

Technical Center Tours Tenth-graders at SAHS take tours of the SCTC programs and facilities.

Career Exploration Day A career exploration day, which in the past ninth-grade SCTC girls attended, is expanding to all SAHS ninth-grade girls. The careers presented will expand to include professional careers, in addition to the traditional trades that were presented in past years.

Inter-School Newspaper The high school student newspaper has expanded to an SAHS/SCTC campuswide student publication.

Robotics An SAHS physics teacher plans to involve his class in a robotics project that has been implemented solely by an SCTC Information Systems Technology instructor in the past.

Civil Rights Team The SAHS Civil Rights Team, which previously had only SAHS faculty assistance, now includes a SCTC staff member.

Identification of Curriculum Power Standards Each SAHS department has identified several curriculum standards that are essential to their subject area. In addition to other uses in students’ learning, this can facilitate collaborations between SAHS and SCTC classes.

WorkReady Several SAHS and SCTC faculty members attended a presentation about WorkReady, a program sponsored by the Maine Department of Education and the Somerset Workforce Development Team, which can be integrated into other curriculum to give students certification as possessing global skills employers seek.

Supporting the goals

Progress in the Multiple Pathways initiative depends on the organizational climate within SAHS and SCTC. Recent initiatives within Skowhegan Area High School support Multiple Pathways goals.

Professional Learning Groups Interdisciplinary professional learning groups are at SAHS. These groups, which give SAHS faculty opportunities to solve inevitable curriculum and classroom management challenges, provide forums to discuss best strategies for planning, implementing and assessing 21^st Century skills and academic content.

Student Advisories Planning at SAHS has begun for student advisories. These groups will help foster relationships and a feeling of belonging to help students achieve to their capacity, to feel engaged with their school experience, and to complete it.

Extended Learning Time Advisories might take place during an Extended Learning time—if not in 2011-12, perhaps in the following year. This time might be used for tutoring, promoting the Multiple Pathways goals of rigorous learning, literacy and numeracy. Extended Learning time also supports opportunities for enrichment and other personalized learning opportunities.

Faculty Leadership Student Advisories planning is led by faculty members. A new Principal’s Advisory group and a continuing Department Head group also provide faculty leadership. Faculty members led some of the Multiple Pathways planning groups at summer workshops and presented to the rest of the faculty. An organization infrastructure of faculty with constructive leadership abilities, which are developed with support and through experience, is essential for implementation and sustainability of major initiatives, including Multiple Pathways.

Rachel’s Challenge In response to a statewide directive for anti-bullying programs, the campus began participating in a program called Rachel’s Challenge in January. The increased climate of caring, safety for all, and community that the program could help develop would support Multiple Pathways goals. Since absenteeism and dropping-out are high among students who are marginalized and made to feel unsafe, improving school climate could bolster the number of students finishing school and being well prepared for next steps.

Next steps

Work has begun to implement a framework that helps students complete high school and be willing and able to participate in postsecondary education and citizenship. There are many areas that need to be addressed.

One such area is SCTC/SAHS collaboration. While there are several examples of high school and technical center teachers working together, they are still the exception rather than the norm. Courses at SCTC center on project learning, and SCTC instructors have in-depth expertise in implementing it. Deeper collaborations between the two wings of campus could bring SAHS faculty who desire to begin or deepen project learning, additional project learning strategies. Increased collaborations and teaming between SCTC and SAHS faculty could create pathways for students to fulfill part or all of an academic class’s requirements through participation in a career and technical class. Collaborations with high school faculty would allow SCTC faculty to be aware of SAHS academic objectives so they can reinforce them.

More collaboration would allow faculty in the two wings to discuss challenges and remedies for students they share. Collegial conversations would allow discussion of academic strengths and deficits that become apparent in the process of students’ project learning in SCTC classes and 21^st Century skills strengths and deficits that have been observed in either SAHS or SCTC classes. A curriculum alliance model that integrates academic and career curriculum, was presented as a goal to faculty who attended Multiple Pathways summer workshops. An adaptation of this model might be a promising way to further the goals of the initiative.

Students’ personalized/extended learning opportunities will be the special focus in 2011-12. Further community resources will be identified and made available not only for personalized learning but as a resource for classroom teachers.

Tapping into faculty wisdom and know-how is essential, and continued efforts and supports for this should continue. In addition, SCTC and SAHS educators have attended conferences, workshops, and meetings in Maine and New Hampshire, and visited programs to learn about best practices. This professional development needs to continue.

Multiple Pathways is an encompassing approach that potentially affects, and is affected by, everything that the high school and center do. As such, further development of the initiative requires further thinking of how best to meet the needs of all learners. Through the identification of school and community resources, connections to students’ interests, and the commitment to the importance of this team approach, Multiple Pathways at Somerset Career and Technical Center and Skowhegan Area High School could have a substantial effect on the lives of students.

Lee Anna Stirling teaches graduate education leadership and curriculum courses and was a teacher, administrator and instructional coach in schools. In 2010-11 she served as Multiple Pathways Administrative Liaison at Skowhegan Area High School/Somerset Career and Technical Center.

Note: A version of this article, entitled Multiple Pathways: Post-Secondary Education, Career and Citizenship Readiness for All Students, appeared in the Journal of Maine Education, Meeting the Needs of All Learners (2011), 8. Maine ASCD.

Multiple Pathways Frameworks

In their book, Beyond Tracking: Multiple Pathways to College, Career, and Civic Participation (Harvard University Press, 2008), Jeannie Oakes of the Ford Foundation, and Marisa Saunders of the University of California, Los Angeles, emphasize that schools should not track students as “vocational” or “academic.” They claim that rigorous learning refers to rigor in higher-order thinking skills, application of knowledge, and depth of academic knowledge. They caution against using exit exams that exclude adequate evaluation of these abilities. Academics and preparation for careers would both be within theme-based programs. Themes could be, for example, health, law, information technology, environment, social justice or performing arts. Within each theme-based program there is a college preparatory academic core, a career/technical core including academic and real world standards and field-based learning opportunities.

In the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy, suggested that by the end of 10th grade students should take demanding tests of core subjects and the skills workplaces require of employees such as creativity, leadership and team work. If students pass the exams, they can go to community college at that point (one pathway), or continue in high school with rigorous courses such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate (a second pathway).

Robert Schwartz, academic dean at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, offers that states should design exit assessments of reading, math and writing that include American Diploma Project (ADP) benchmarks, which are based on entry-level expectations of higher education and high-level employers. The test might include extensive writing, multi-step math solutions, assessment of clear reasoning and problem-solving, creativity, leadership and team skills.

Finally, the National Youth Employment Coalition’s American Youth Policy Forum’s multiple-pathways model includes alternative placements for students not succeeding in schools. Both alternative schools and sending schools would include, among other curricula: GED preparation, community college programs, vocational skills programs, and high-quality afterschool programs

—Lee Anna Stirling

"While the goal of the previous Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks was to ensure students’ ...]]>

The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy and the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education will hold a forum on "Defining and Assessing College and Career Readiness" on Tuesday June 14, at 8:30 a.m. at the Seaport World Trade Center Boston.

"While the goal of the previous Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks was to ensure students’ proficiency in specific disciplines," says the Rennie Center in its forum overview, "the goal of the new Common Core State Standards is to ensure that all students are college- and career-ready. Yet, to date, there has been no clear, statewide definition of college- and career-readiness."

Speakers will include: Mitchell Chester, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; Richard Freeland, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education; Robert Schwartz, academic dean at Harvard Graduate School of Education; David Mancuso, vice president of external affairs at AT&T; and a panel of students and teachers.

The value of a college degree is well documented. College graduates earn at least 60% more than high school graduates. Beyond the economic value, college graduates show higher rates of civic participation, engage in volunteer work and even have a much higher likelihood of being “happy,” according to a 2005 survey by the Pew Research ...]]>

The value of a college degree is well documented. College graduates earn at least 60% more than high school graduates. Beyond the economic value, college graduates show higher rates of civic participation, engage in volunteer work and even have a much higher likelihood of being “happy,” according to a 2005 survey by the Pew Research Center. Students who drop out without attaining a college degree will forgo significant lifetime earnings and are likely to be saddled with debt that may impact their ability to buy a car, a house or even return to finish their education at a later date. And the consequences for failing are not just for the students who leave. Our economy, and many argue our democracy, depends on maintaining and building an educated workforce and citizenry. Most of our efforts over the past decade have focused on college access and we have made progress in preparing students to aspire to and apply to college. However, given our poor track record of graduating students, we have much work to do to help students attain a college degree. The data show that only about half the students who enroll in college end up earning a four-year college degree. This statistic has not changed much in over a decade. Yet the stakes have increased since President Obama took office. He has committed to increasing the number of high school graduates who enter and succeed in college, understanding that completing the degree is the prerequisite for career success.

The reasons for student attrition have been researched and documented and include: lack of finances, lack of preparation and poor fit between expectations and what students experience once they arrive on campus. An entire industry has been created to assess students and assess the campus environment, and the literature is abundant with best practices in student retention. My own campus employs many of them: early alert and mid-semester warnings, academic tutoring, peer mentoring, financial literacy programs and a first-year seminar to ease the transition to college. Despite all these efforts, we still lose more students than we’d like and are stymied about how to improve our retention and their academic success. We have developed a multitude of programs to focus on student success, but to some extent our approach is to do these for or to the student; too often the students themselves haven’t been true partners in efforts to help them succeed.

High school students may have a pretty good understanding of what they need to do to get into college, and of the importance of attending college for career and financial success, but they have an undeveloped and even unrealistic understanding of what it takes to successfully transition, persist and graduate from college. As I think about our students, I see a persistent and pervasive gap between what students are expected to be able to do in college and what students actually come prepared to do. Even those students who test into college-level courses—based on their performance on entering placement tests—seem to lack crucial academic knowledge and skills and appear ill-prepared for the demands of college-level work.

Students bring with them the habits and attitudes that may have been “good enough” to get by in high school but will not support their success in college where “passing” is not enough to maintain sufficient academic progress toward a degree. If they don’t get a C or better in developmental and foundation courses—also know as the “gatekeeping” courses—they cannot progress and lose time and money without reaching their goal. Too often students exert the minimal effort that they perceive will be good enough to pass the course. They seem more focused on getting through the course rather than learning the content and skills which can inform their work and lives. This is especially true when they don’t readily see the point of what they are learning—typically in their general education and developmental courses which they view as too much like high school.

Many of our faculty work hard to “meet students where they are,” allow for extra credit work, and encourage students to meet with them outside of class for further instruction or clarification. Still, too many students don’t take advantage of these opportunities and seem either unable or unwilling to seek assistance. However, I don’t believe that this is because they don’t want to be in college or they don’t wish to succeed.

The fact is that while many students have the expectations and aspirations to pursue their college dreams, they are unprepared for the work. Despite the reports stressing the need for a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum in high school, many high school graduates enter college lacking the academic habits and skills—including how to read a textbook and take notes as well as study and organizational skills—necessary to successfully transition to college-level expectations.

Beyond academic preparation, one explanation for the high school-to-college achievement gap is what Seton Hall professor Rebecca Cox calls “the college fear factor.” The students she studied know that a college degree is essential to their future success in life and careers but bring tremendous anxiety to the experience. Many bring past experiences with failure in an academic context. And typically, this gets reinforced on their first day of college where they have to “pass or fail” a placement test to see if they are deemed ready for college-level work. They come to college acutely aware of their past failures and lack of readiness and this feeds their self-doubts about whether they will be able to succeed.

So why don’t students reach out to professors who say that “their office doors are open” and they are “always available to meet with students”? Cox believes that students are afraid professors will confirm their academic inadequacy. Because of these fears, students end up not employing the very strategies that will help them such as meeting with professors outside of class, asking for help or asking questions in class for fear of being exposed as stupid. They don’t ask questions, seek outside help from faculty or their peers and may even skip class rather than risk seeming ignorant or slow. Unfortunately, these behaviors only exacerbate the problem. Students may be afraid to even admit this to themselves and usually have no one to turn to who can help them sort through these feelings. This is especially true for students who may be the first in their families to go to college. Finally, too few students see themselves as having some measure of control about their ability to succeed or fail. Those who struggle are more likely to attribute it to bad luck or factors they see as out of their influence. Students see themselves as passive recipients of their professors’ knowledge rather than viewing learning as an interaction between the professor and student. They typically rely on the faculty member to “teach them what they need to know” which usually translates to what will be on the test. This may be attributed to previous school experience or stage of cognitive development or possibly both. Helping students become active participants in their own learning requires skilled teaching, however this is almost never part of most faculty members’ graduate preparation. Research on Latino students by Laura I. Rendón, professor of higher education and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Iowa State University, indicates that students who persist are actively engaged by key adults (who may or may not be their instructors) also known as “validating agents” who take an active interest in and provide encouragement for students and affirm their ability to do academic work. These are people who, in the words of one of our students, “… believed in me before I even believed in myself.”

Increasing student readiness for college is important, but we also need to improve our ability to better serve students. Instead of adding program upon program to the array of services we provide students, I believe we need to fundamentally rethink the first year of college for the increasing numbers of students who come to us who aren’t “hard-wired” for success. Vincent Tinto, distinguished university professor at Syracuse University and widely known expert on student attrition, suggests that unless institutions of higher education do something to reshape the prevailing educational experiences of students during their first year of college and address the deeper roots of their continued lack of success, then we should not expect to see results any different from what we have experienced over the past few decades. Imagine if colleges were ranked by how much students learn once they arrive rather than by how much they need to learn before they enter. While this requires a larger cultural shift, in the meantime, there are a number of systemic models for what a program or a college that is focused on student success might look like.

The City University of New York has come up with a bold plan for a new college structured to improve student success. The college will engage students at admission in developing an educational plan and establishing connections with faculty and staff who will advise, register and help students apply for aid. Beginning in a three-week summer bridge program, students will complete a variety of assessments to diagnose learning strengths and weaknesses and begin to develop the skills and strategies necessary to succeed in their courses. Students will take a required first-year core curriculum integrating liberal arts and professional studies which will lead to a second- and third-year program that places students in linked courses along with internships. Finally, advising and student support services will be “wrapped” around students, and students will work either on campus or in a setting with partner employers.

Another effort is the Foundation Year Program currently being piloted in Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies. It entails a structured year-long full-time college-based program that begins with a six-week summer program followed by three 12-week quarters in the fall, winter and spring. An intensive five-day a week schedule includes both credit-bearing and noncredit academic courses as well as supported study time, college and career exploration and leadership, wellness and youth development programming. Additionally, in the winter and spring terms students spend two afternoons per week in internship rotations. The program provides a dedicated student advisor and four full-time faculty who offer writing and math instruction, tutoring and advising to a cohort of 40 students. Though in its first year, program participants are expected to continue as sophomores either at Northeastern or at selected partner institutions.

A well-known approach that isn’t institutionally based is the Posse Foundation’s model, which creates a “posse” or cohort of students who act as a support system for one another in order to succeed in college. Posse Scholars are recruited while still in high school and spend their senior year preparing for their college experience. They meet weekly in workshops that build skills around team-building and group support, cross-cultural communication and leadership. Once they have matriculated, Posse staff visit each university four times a year to meet with Posse Scholars, campus liaisons and mentors. Each mentor meets weekly with the Posse as a team and with each scholar individually every two weeks during the first two years of college. This program recognizes the importance of preparation prior to matriculation and support while in college and to arming students with the skills and tools to be active participants in their own success. It demonstrates that the transition to college needs to begin while students are still in high school and suggests that we might rethink the senior year of high school—especially the second half of the senior year—to focus not just on getting into college, but on getting through college. This could include opportunities for dual enrollment to enable students to experience college-level expectations and assignments while they are still in high school and early placement testing so that students can get information on their academic strengths and remediate areas in which they are weak so that they enter college prepared for post-secondary level work. High schools could also offer the equivalent of a college success course including time management, study skills, reading a textbook and writing a college-level research paper so that students do not have to learn these skills while simultaneously being enrolled in college courses.

Too often college access and success are viewed separately with secondary schools shouldering the responsibility for college enrollment and colleges being accountable for student persistence. The result is typically finger-pointing and blame: High school folks say that colleges need to do a better job of graduating their students while those who work at colleges say that their students would succeed if only high schools did a better job preparing them. The truth is we will never achieve the goal of raising college attainment levels unless we work across sectors to close the gap between high school and college preparation and performance to ensure that students successfully transition and graduate from college.

___________________________________________________________________________

Deborah Hirsch is associate vice president for academic affairs at Mount Ida College.