PApPERs

Students need a better Education to be ready for College

Today education in high school is different from what most students face in college. Every year many students graduate from high school from all around the world, but the question that many students do not ask themselves is “I am prepared to move forward.” Many students struggle when they take classes at colleges. Sometimes they fail, do not do well in college and they feel disappointed and drop out of college. Many students feel that everything is new for them because the way that they had been taught was different or maybe it was a basic style. Students believe that high school should be more like preparation to enter to college; teachers should teach as college professors do, so that the students do not get surprised when they enter into a college institution.

High school is the end for some students, but for other, it is only a new beginning. Students face many responsibilities, new ways of learning, and different ways of teaching when they are introduce into a college institution. For some students, it is hard to adapt to this new ways of learning because in high school it was different. Yates Kathy Jo Ed Ph. made a survey to find out if students were prepare for college.

‘The analysis indicated that students who entered college prepared for college-level work, based on earned ACT scores, were much more likely to graduate within 3 years as compared to students who entered college underprepared and required to take developmental courses. Further, the study revealed that the number of developmental courses and the number of developmental academic subject content areas students were required to take was inversely related to the 3-year persistence-to-graduation rate.’ (Graduation rates: A comparison of first-time, full-time freshmen who entered a community college prepared and those who entered underprepared for college-level work) (Yates, 2011)

Some examples are, in high school, teachers grade students for the effort and not for doing it the right way, another example is the discipline of doing things in a professional way, not in a basic way. Students got used to being baby-sat in high school. In college, students feel that teachers do not care about them because teachers do not tell them what they did wrong. Students need to know that high school is not the same as college. This is the big surprise that students find when they enter into an institution. Teachers treat students as an adult and that most students do not understand it.

For the most part students in high school learn in only one learning style. Students learn the basic subjects in an easy way, not like college level. Crosby, Lynne Sponaugle, Ph.D survey was that,

‘The results of this study can support community college faculty and administrators' efforts to prepare their students as actively engaged and effective citizens. The findings suggest that students may benefit from meaningful civic activities and diverse interactions. It is recommended that college faculty and student affairs staffs collaborate with high schools and local and regional organizations to provide students with opportunities to enhance civic-related capacities on and off campus.

This result is extremely bad because this shows that high schools and colleges are not sharing the same education for students so they can feel a little bit more confident with college. Students believe that high school and college must teach in the same standard way, so students do not feel that everything is new for them. (Crosby, 2011)

Surprising, it is what most students get when they find that college is very different from high school. Students should have a class about college experiences in high school. Inform students about the type of learning style, the way that teachers will treat them in colleges, all the important things, and what they should know before getting into colleges. High schools need teach in a better level because students have the knowledge about what college is about. College is the key of opportunities and students need learn in a better way.

Annotated Bibliography

Thesis: High school education does not get student ready to take college level classes.

Brown, C. G., & Schwartz, R. (2014). College Prep for All? Education Next Journal, Vol. 14, No.3, 56-60.

Brown and Schwartz argue that students need to learn some basic skills in high school that should prepare them for the vigorous college curriculum. Some of the basic fundamental skills noted in the journal include English, math, science, history/social science, and language arts. Brown and Schwartz emphasize that these skills are vital for educational programs and career purposes. However, if they are not instituted early enough to offer transition between the different levels of learning process, the learners will not benefit and the economy will be affected eventually. Expounding on this argument, Brown and Schwartz provide some solutions to the current high school curriculum that can assist students prepare better for college classes.

Bryant, R. T.-A.-F. (2015, February 20). College Preparations for African American Students: Gaps in the High School Educational Experience. Retrieved June 21, 2016, from Center for Law and Social Policy Web site.

This article explores the college preparedness of African American students that they acquire during high school curriculum. It argues that this category of students in the United States represent the group from poverty stricken communities. The article further argues that education is the primary tool for closing the wealth gap between the Black Americans and the whites in the country. However, if the current education program does not accord the black students the opportunity to achieve better in education, efforts to close the wealth gap will be continuously undermined. Bryant asserts that this effect should be reserved for educational and economic purposes.

Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies. (2014). rising to the challenge: Are high school graduates prepared for college and work? Washington, D.C.: Achieve, Inc.

Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work? Is a survey conducted by Hart Research Associates in conjunction with the Public Opinion Strategies on college and out of college individuals in a bid to establish whether the high school curriculum is adequately preparing students for college or not. The survey was conducted nationally in 2014 and concluded that current high school education does not adequately prepare students for college programs. The non-students correspondents in the survey include college educators who cite knowledge gaps in various areas of education seen in college students. The survey further provides detailed statistics on the percentages of students challenged that act as a good supportive material for this papers thesis.

Venezia, A., & Jaeger, L. (2013). Transitions from High School to College. The Future of Children, Vol. 23, No.1, 117-136.

Venezia and Jaeger explore the various factors that undermine the smooth transition of students from high school curriculum to college education. It identifies the undermining factors as the content that teachers teach in high school, the unrecognized college expectation, and the characteristic difference between schools concentrated with poverty-stricken students and schools of privileged students. Venesia and Jaeger state that the more privileged students find the transition smooth due the kind of exposure and teaching they receive. The article further notes that other non-curricular variables such as parental expectations, peer influences, and social environment also play a vital part in facilitating the preparedness for college curriculum.

Bibliography

Crosby, L. (2011, April 28). The influence of precollege experiences on community college student civic-related capacities. Leal, F. (2015, July 30). Edsources. Retrieved from Most high school students feel unprepared for college, careers: https://edsource.org/2015/survey-most-high-school-students-feel-unprepared-for-college-careers/83752 Yates, K. (2011). A comparison of first-time, full-time freshmen who entered a community college prepared and those who entered underprepared for college-level work. Graduation Rates.