Unstack the Odds: Help All Kids Access College—and Graduate!
by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)
12. Academic Prep, Part 1
“Keeping schools open from dawn to dusk, six days a week — offering youngsters a raft of medical, social and psychological supports, academic help, sports and activities — also has a demonstrable effect on academics. For starters, “community schools” keep kids off the streets after school — that’s critical, because the amount of time young people hang out on street corners with their friends is a better predictor of failure in school than family income.”--David L. Kirp, “There are ways to bridge the achievement gap in schools,” The Vindicator, October 19, 2010, p. A11. http://www.vindy.com/news/2010/oct/19/there-are-ways-to-bridge-the-achievement/?newswatch As for academic preparation, it is important to emphasize those measures found effective in reducing the achievement gap. As David Kirp summarized them, “Good preschools, smaller elementary school classes, a focus on reading, altering attitudes about intelligence, linking schools to their communities and paying attention to character-building — there’s nothing pie-in-the-sky in this agenda. If these crib-to-college reforms shift the public conversation away from “you can’t educate these kids” fatalism and toward investing in what’s been shown to work, the biggest achievement gap may finally start to shrink.” (Ibid.) I am occasionally asked what courses high school students need for college; I respond—with only slight exaggeration—“four years of everything.” That’s not just my view; according to Carol Frey, writer in the U.S. News Best Colleges 2011, “. . . educators do agree on the courses that students should take in high school: four years of English at the college-preparation level; four years of science including two lab sciences; four years of social sciences such as history and economics; and, increasingly, four years of math. ‘If you take a year off from math, when you take your college math placement exam, you could find yourself in a remedial class that doesn't qualify for financial aid or count toward graduation,’ warns Jacqueline King, who directs the American Council on Education's Center for Policy Analysis. To be ready for the college-level algebra required of most freshmen, for example, means taking algebra I and II courses and trigonometry in high school.” (Carol Frey, “Crash Course in Preparedness,” U.S. News & World Report, September 2010, p. 38.) http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/08/16/a-crash-course-in-college-preparedness To be sure, additional coursework in music and art as well as various electives are also a benefit to students aspiring to college. Massachusetts recently increased its mathematics requirement for students seeking places in state universities. According to an article in The Boston Globe, “The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education voted unanimously yesterday to require high school students seeking admission to a state university to take four years of math in high school, in an effort to boost college completion rates and to expose students from low-income communities to a more rigorous curriculum that better meets the expectations of colleges. Studies have linked the level of math taken in high school to a reduced need for remediation in college and a better chance of graduating.” According to that article, “Nationally, 10 states require four years of math for public college admissions, and more are expected to do so, said higher education officials.” (Tracy Jan, “State board boosts math requirement,” The Boston Globe, March 23, 2011.) http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/03/23/state_board_boosts_math_requirement/
No comments:
Post a Comment