Saturday, October 11, 2014

College Readiness

Joanne, freshly back from Spain, gives statistics that back up what so many of us have long believed:
Forty-three percent of SAT takers in the class of 2014 are prepared for college, reports College Board. The average SAT score was 1497 out of 2400, down a point from the year before. A combined score of 1550 predicts success in college classes.

Only students aspiring to selective colleges take the SAT.  College readiness rates are even lower — 26 percent — on the ACT, which includes some students required by their states to take the exam.
This causes one to wonder:  why do college costs keep going up?  Why are schools so crowded such that students have a hard time getting the classes they need in order to graduate in 4 years?  Why do we have so many remedial math and English students at universities?

If I were in charge, I wouldn't let unprepared students into public universities (private universities can do whatever the market will bear).  Take your remedial courses at community college and come to a university when you're ready to do university-level work.

It's an idea that's so wacky it just might work.  (BTW, complaining that there's not enough room at CC's is not a reason to warehouse students at higher-cost universities.  Just sayin'.)

1 comment:

Doug said...

I thoght that the idea was that the only viable option to becoming a valued and productive citizen in our growing global village, was to attend a university or a good state school. That to do any other would be a let down of all our fellow purple peguins. In the interests of full disclosure, I fall into the latter catagory since I only did 23 years in the U.S.M.C. :)