SUSE Bridge Project report draws national attention to disconnect between K-12 and colleges

High Schools Fail to Prepare Many Students for College, Stanford Study Says

March 3, 2003
The Chronicle of Higher Education
By MEGAN ROONEY

A growing number of high-school students intend to continue their education after high school, but they often lack crucial information on applying to college and on succeeding academically once they get there, researchers at Stanford University conclude in a report released on Tuesday.

In the report, titled "Betraying the College Dream: How Disconnected K-12 and Postsecondary Education Systems Undermine Student Aspiration," the research team at Stanford's Bridge Project cites several factors -- including a disconnect between high-school and college curriculums and confusing, incomplete information about how to prepare for college -- that contribute to a high dropout rate across racial and ethnic lines.

"Despite their high aspirations, not enough students are well-prepared (as evidenced by high college remediation rates), and not enough complete college," according to the authors of the report. "Once they enroll in college, many students are startled to learn that getting into a college is often the easiest step."

The report focuses on six states -- California, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, Oregon, and Texas -- that are currently trying to improve higher education in their states. But the phenomenon of students entering postsecondary institutions in large numbers and obtaining degrees in much smaller numbers is one experienced across the country, the researchers say, and one that holds for students of all racial groups.

According to the Stanford researchers, the problem of confusing academic assessments is a major deterrent to a high-school student's ability to succeed in college. The academic requirements they work to satisfy in high school -- particularly statewide exams, which can be numerous -- often bear little resemblance to the work they are expected to do in college.

Furthermore, many states have a disconnect between the requirements for graduation from public high schools and the requirements for acceptance at state universities. For example, California high-school students must complete a minimum of three years of English and two years of mathematics in order to graduate, but the state's four-year universities require applicants to have completed four years of English and three years of mathematics. So students who graduated from high school with the required course work may think that they are very well-prepared for college, when actually they may not be.

Students from less wealthy families are less informed about the college admission process, according to the report. But students across the economic spectrum are confused and frustrated by the process, and particularly by the swirl of exams students are confronted with as they apply to college, including Advanced Placement exams, the SAT and SAT II exams, and the ACT.

Despite this confusion, even mediocre students express an interest in attending selective institutions. And community colleges are often seen by students as a place for poor people or academic failures -- though for many students, these institutions may be the best next step.

The report includes testimonials from a number of educators who regularly confront students overwhelmed by the academic expectations of their college or university. One writes, "They've graduated from high school but they come and take our placement test and they're still in pre-college reading, writing, and math. ... They just weren't warned or they don't remember being warned, so now they're having to pay for it, and that is extremely frustrating."

The report concludes with a set of suggestions, including providing all families with accurate and high-quality information about college-preparation courses and coordinating in-state high school and college course work.

The Bridge Project is a six-year, national study that began in 1996 to identify ways to improve the transition of students from high school and college and to strengthen the connection between high-school and college curriculums. "Betraying the College Dream" is its final report. The full text of the report is available online at the Bridge Project's Web site. It can be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free.