It ought to horrify us, but evidently it does not. No outcry has followed the disclosure that the current reading scores are the lowest in SAT history. Nationally, the average reading score for the Class of 2011, including public- and private-school students, was 497, down three points from the previous year and 33 points from 1972. Keep in mind that the scoring system was “re-centered” (dumbed down) in the mid-1990’s, so a straight across comparison to 1972 would be even lower.
Those who make it past high school and are actually enrolled in college are disappointing even more. About 41 percent of students who graduate from a public high school in Ohio take at least one remedial course when they enroll in one of the state’s two- or four-year public colleges, according to the Ohio Board of Regents. Since remedial classes cost as much as other college courses but don’t count toward a degree, they also increase the time it takes to obtain a degree and the likelihood that a student will drop out.
Last year, Ohio spent an estimated $147 million on remedial education — money that could be better spent on other academic programs, said Jim Petro, the state’s higher-education chief. Petro is urging the four-year state universities to phase out their remedial programs over the next six years.
To address this situation, starting in January 10 high school teachers in Columbus will be paired with local college professors in order to “plan and co-teach about 200 sophomores and juniors in English and math, two subjects that give many students trouble. By partnering, the college professors will get a better idea of what is being taught in the high schools. The teachers will gain a better understanding of what is expected of college freshmen.”
Let me see if I understand this:
1. High schools in Ohio (just like every other state) are routinely graduating students who are not prepared for freshman level courses at schools like Columbus State Community College, according to the college.
Who is being punished, fired, held to account for this?
2. Taxpayers in Ohio are being charged 147 million to “remediate” these high school graduates – who (as a result of being “remediated”) are now more likely to drop out of college.
Who thinks this is a good idea? The taxpayers? The instructors? The students?
Is this a costly way to avoid saying to someone, “I’m sorry, you are just not capable of passing college course work”?
3. Are the teachers and professors in the January experiment doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, or are they being paid extra to do this?
If the latter, where will that money come from, and how much of the $147 million will it save? (Oh, wait – I just realized! It will ADD to the current expenditure of $147 million. Well, that’s good…).
4. How will this be any different from previous remediation efforts? What magic feather will they discover that we (in the field of education) do not already know about how students learn and succeed?
I can just see the news interview of one of the high school teachers at the end of the semester: “This was so revealing to us as high school teachers! We had no idea that the colleges wanted our kids to be able to write papers with clarity, unity, focus, and subject-verb agreement! Wow! I am really going to change how I approach my high school writing classes!”
Money is still not the solution.
High schools in Ohio (just like every other state) are routinely graduating students who are not prepared for freshman level courses at schools like Columbus State Community College, according to the college.
ReplyDeletePrivate Schools