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Education Dive
Diploma requirements still out of step with higher ed eligibility in most states
By Linda Jacobson
May 20, 2019
Dive Brief:
States are beginning to integrate career and technical education (CTE)
and STEM-related courses into high school graduation requirements, and
some are also revising diploma pathways to link coursework to
postsecondary goals, but the updates fall short of ensuring credits
earned make students eligible for admission to colleges and
universities, according to a new paper from the Center for American
Progress (CAP).
The paper is an update to a 2018 CAP report showing that high school
courses and eligibility requirements at four-year public universities
line up in only four states — Louisiana, Michigan, South Dakota and
Tennessee. “States must do more than just tweak at the margins,” the
authors write. “They should rethink how well their high school course
sequence sets students up for success.”
CTE and other career-related opportunities can help students develop
workplace skills, the authors write, but to be prepared for college,
students should still take a course load that includes four years of
English, two years of the same foreign language, and three years each
of math (through algebra 2), lab science and social studies (including
U.S. and world history).
Dive Insight:
The CAP paper is another example in which students might be passing and
even excelling in their high school classes, but are unaware that those
classes aren’t preparing them for freshman-level coursework in college.
Last fall, for example, TNTP released a report showing that more than
70% of students do the work their teachers give them, but less than a
fifth of those assignments meet college-readiness standards. Students,
the report said, are often “being woefully underprepared to meet their
ambitious goals.”
Such findings point to the need for students to have access to college
counselors who understand the gaps between high school diploma and
college admission requirements and can begin connecting with students
and families in 9th grade so they understand the courses they need to
take and how to apply for financial aid. Frequent reports, however,
show that because counselor-to-student ratios are so high, students
often don’t have the access to expert advice they need. Many students,
especially those whose parents didn’t attend college, don’t even know
the questions to ask about college and career choices.
Providing students and their parents with accurate information about
being on track for college is one reason more districts are beginning
to provide students with personalized reports showing not only whether
they are on track for graduation, but whether they are taking the
courses that make them eligible for the colleges and universities they
want to pursue. The Long Beach Unified School District’s "college
readiness guides" even include contact information for district alumni
now in college who are willing to share their experiences with current
high school students. Such reports are an example of combining all of
the data schools have on students’ progress and making it more useful
for families.
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