Oregon is struggling to prepare its high school students for college, and those students are paying the price.
A report from Achieve, Inc., a national education advocacy organization, shows that Oregon has largely failed thus far to adequately align its high school education policies in such a way as to send students to college prepared for the increased responsibility that lies ahead.
The report judged each state and the District of Columbia on their collective policies geared toward achieving this end: Oregon anticipates having a policy in place aligning “high school standards with college and workplace expectations” by 2009. But it is important to note that in all other criteria the state is either in the “planning” phase or has yet to even consider a policy.
Oregon students shouldn’t have to settle for mediocrity. High schools and colleges need to work together with the state to synchronize their lesson plans so that students enter college with the basic tools they will need to succeed. But there are examples on this campus that such a step has yet to be taken.
For instance, the University requires that all students take two general writing courses – Writing 121 and 122. Much of the content taught in these classes is remedial, with information basically regurgitated from high school lesson plans. Yet some students leave the classes as alien to the basics of writing as they were upon entering. Such cases reveal the lack of adequate preparation many students receive in high school, or their whole school career for that matter.
The problem in itself is ambiguous; when does a student start preparing for college? It could be argued that the process starts on day one of their freshman year. In reality, college preparation for most students begins in their junior and senior years. This is where the state’s attention must be focused.
There are viable options for Oregon to deal with these problems, as well as existing opportunities for students to make the most of their high school education. Advanced Placement courses are available at most accredited high schools, and should be made increasingly so. These AP courses are the best chance for students to experience college-level courses while still in high school. But few actually take advantage of them. One alternative, then, is to introduce assessments gauging individual students’ levels of college and career readiness. Only nine states currently have such policies in place, but 23 others, including Oregon, are planning to develop such a test in the near future.
College is supposed to be about preparing students for a career; the time for basics has long since come and gone. Students, in large part, are responsible for their own education. If someone can’t handle a college writing course because they weren’t paying attention during high school English, they have no one to blame but themselves. But to the extent that a student is a product of the education afforded to them, educators and legislators must share the burden of preparing them for the next step.