Does the Typical High School Experience Adequately Prepare Students for College?

By: Aaron Schwartz
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:26:41
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The educational system in the USA is organized in the way that allows every student at high school to get the education that will mostly suit his ambitions, goals and objectives. The main problem for the high school student to decide is what to do after graduation. There are lots of options that of course include continuation of the education in the institutions of higher learning as colleges and universities. And it`s up to student to decide what to choose then. Those who plan to attend college after high school have quite a work a to be done in high school. Because of flexibility and subject selection options that exist nearly in all public schools of the country students have an opportunity to get the most extensive and inclusive preparation for college life that both includes academics and social activities. Most of public high schools allow students to choose the classes that will help them to get determined with their future major, most of them also offer students to take college courses or to attend local college courses that will be included into their graduation requirements as well as they allow students to socialize through participation in different social activities, clubs, drama, and athletics. Moreover school administration provides a lot of options and gives complete information about educational and professional opportunities for students since they enter high school as freshman. So it can be obviously stated that students who plan to attend college after high school graduation have equal and wide opportunities to get needed academic and in most cases social preparation for future college life.

Most of high schools allow students to get the information about their prospective education since entrance or when they are in the sophomore or junior class. School counselor is often the person who can give the most reasonable and realistic advice to student about his future educational choice. As the college requires certain level of preparation it`s really important to achieve certain level of academic preparation and take the subjects that will mostly suit to the future career. Most competitive colleges require additional course work along with performance on standardized tests as ACT or SAT and grade point average, as well as rank in class. Understandably that nothing can substitute academic work, but college may also require a portfolio or a resume that will include awards or honors, leadership, recommendations and family situation. The student with a GPA 4.0 will be doubtfully accepted to a college with a good engineering program if the highest math he took was Algebra 2 or its equivalent. James England explains it by the following words:

“Every year, hundreds of thousands of ninth-graders make a decision that sorts them for years. They decide not to take Algebra I. This decision made at the age of 13 or 14 lowers their chances of attending college and raises their risk of forfeiting the future. Schools permit them to do this. Parents allow them to do it. They clearly do not understand the implications of this mundane, lightly made decision”

The Lost Opportunity of Senior Year: Finding a Better Way makes the problem about college preparation more clear as writing :

“Exacerbating the problem is the fact that students in the general track often are not given access to those courses necessary for success in college. As a result, these students usually do not have access to a school`s strongest instructors because these teachers generally gravitate towards the more accelerated, dual-credit courses. Students in the general track are just as likely as their college-prep colleagues to acquire senioritis. They take jobs and work a substantial number of hours per week after school (on average 15-20 hours per week) and spend considerable time socializing (another 20-25 hours per week), watching television (about 15 hours per week) or engaged in activities not connected to their schoolwork.

Perhaps contributing to the lack of interest in school during the senior year is the fact that students in the general track often do not see themselves as important contributors to the school community. Instead, many of these students believe that the "important students in their schools were those who stood out either academically, on the sports field, or in music. Everyone else faded into a blur, probably not known well, if at all, by teachers, counselors, or other adults."

The best academic preparation for college, students will most likely get if they take college level subjects at high school or take advanced placement subjects and then pass AP exams. Advanced placement courses in sciences ort humanities will give the most appropriate preparation for college subjects and will prepare students for harder and more independent work as well as they allow to save a lot of money if the AP exam is passed successfully and the college gives the credit for the course. Kati Haycock explains the role of the senior year at high school and its importance: “The result of this lack of focus on school during the senior year is time wasted in college making up work that should have been accomplished during high school. While almost half of the students in a general track will attend college after high school graduation, such students frequently take one or more remedial courses and are not as likely to progress beyond their freshman year.”( Barth, Patte, Kati Haycock, Sandra Huang, and Autumn Richardson (2001, January). Youth At the Crossroads: Facing High School and Beyond. The Education Trust, Inc.)

Moreover the students who take these kind of subjects are more determined with their future career and educational objectives for future, so learning in this kind of environment is very beneficial for academic and personal development because it influences on the way of taking decisions and independent thinking of the person.

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