Counselors from community high schools have mixed feelings about an OUS study released this month showing that high school sophomores who scored well on their 10th grade benchmark were more likely to succeed as college freshmen.
The study will be used as a foundation for the Proficiency-based Admission Standards System, a new admission standard that will be completely implemented into OUS by 2005.
The study results failed to impress some counselors around the state, and others are critical of the new PASS program, contending that its implementation would be costly and time consuming for schools, especially given the struggling state economy.
Some counselors said it is unreasonable to assume schools can handle the extra responsibility of implementing PASS at the high school level. However, grant funding makes up about 80 percent of PASS funding, and about half of the $5.7 million received since 1994 has gone to high schools for teacher training and materials.
Amy Adams-Schauer, a counselor at Churchill High School, said the study did not surprise her because students with good grades tend to score well on the benchmark tests — an indicator that the student will also do well in college.
“The test isn’t showing us anything we probably aren’t aware of anyway,” she said. “Grades and curriculum are taken as indicators.”
Adams-Schauer said students on the college track are more concerned about their grades and classes, and generally aren’t discouraged if they score low on state tests. She said students tend to look at the test as something they have to take from the state.
And even if students do score poorly, she said counselors wouldn’t leave them in the dark or redirect their college track based on the scores.
“As counselors, we look at students as individuals and help them,” she said. “We tend to always look at the positive side. People can always make a change in their lives.”
Adams-Schauer was also concerned with the legality issue, speculating that many parents would be unhappy if their child, who received good grades and a high SAT score, wasn’t accepted into college because he or she didn’t fulfill PASS requirements.
“I would be up in arms if I had a kid with high SAT scores and good grades who didn’t pass the CIM and didn’t get accepted,” she said.
Some counselors, however, said the study would positively affect their work with students.
Tia Dube, a counselor from Sheldon High School, said she had not yet heard about the study, but that it could potentially affect the way she guides students. Dube said she would first determine whether a student receiving low benchmark scores was college-bound, then take several steps with the parent and student to determine areas he or she has to work on. After this process, Dube said she would use the study.
“I would definitely talk about the correlation and give them some extra hints,” she said.
Other counselors said the study wouldn’t affect their jobs because they already have a good idea of how well students may do in college from working with them.
Keith Kessler, a counselor at Cottage Grove High School, said even if students do poorly on the benchmarks in 10th grade, they still have until their senior year to improve. He said this opportunity, compounded with counselor support for students as individuals, gives students a chance to better their scores.
Kessler acknowledged that some students could become discouraged finding out they may not do well in college based on their benchmarks, but he said the general population of students are willing to improve before graduation — which counselors help them do, whether it’s a four-year college or two-year college.
“I think anytime you have a public connection you’ll have certain individuals who will say ‘we struggle with this,’” he said. But “I don’t know a school that doesn’t look at students individually to find out what is the best option for them.”
Kessler added that the PASS program itself is a good idea because it will help students get into college if they are proficient in areas of study but don’t have the grades or SAT scores to get accepted.
But Kessler is also concerned with the ability for college admissions officers to implement a system requiring them to look at every student’s PASS proficiencies in detail.
“I think there’s a question in the logistics of that,” he said.
Mia Burger, a sophomore at Cottage Grove High School, said she takes the benchmark test very seriously because she knows it will help her in college — but knowing the correlation between the study and the benchmark has made her work a little harder.
Still, Burger said she wouldn’t be discouraged if she did badly on the test.
“I’d still plan on going to college even if I did poorly,” she said. But “I’ve already been working pretty hard.”