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Katrina Weichmann

Mrs. Cramer

College Composition I Pd. 7

30 January 2017

Life After High School

Statistics show that "only about a third of U.S. high school seniors are prepared for

college-level coursework in math and reading" (Camera 1). High schoolers are attending college,

but arent actually prepared for the work done in the classes. Teachers in high school are

agreeing with this problem, but are finding it hard to fix due to school requirements in the state.

Therefore, high school classes are not preparing students for college because some classes teach

at a basic level, high schools are forced to prepare students for tests, and students are not

engaged enough in the work.

Firstly, the higher-level classes in high school are not as difficult as the classes in college,

which causes the students to be unprepared. High schools offer Advanced Placement (AP)

classes and college in the classroom, but they still are not as difficult as college level classes.

Nearly 60 percent of students attending two-year colleges end up in costly and time-consuming

remedial courses to strengthen their skills before being let into college-level, according to figures

compiled by the Community College Research Center at Teacher's college, Columbia

University (Ostashevsky 2). Students cannot avoid taking these remedial courses in college

because the classes were not difficult enough and didn't prepare them in high school. These

students are now faced with extra course work and expenses, which leads them to giving up

(Ostashevsky 2). If high school had prepared them for this college-level work, they wouldn't
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have had to take these extra courses. Yes, high schools offer these AP and college in the

classroom classes, but not every student takes those classes. Most students do not want to take

those classes due to all the work, but they should know that all the work will help them be ready

for college. These classes are offered, but they still aren't as challenging as college level classes.

Thus, the higher level classes in high school should be more difficult and prepare the students for

college.

Secondly, high school teachers are forced to prepare students for tests, as Kenneth

Bernstein, a retired high school teacher, says. Since teachers in high school are mainly focusing

on test work, it limits what they can accomplish in the classrooms. Some classes also have a

large number of students, which makes it harder for the teacher to help them individually. Too

much effort is spent on learning information and perhaps insufficient time on wrestling with the

material at a deeper level (Strauss 3). Bernstein is saying here that most of class time is spent

focusing on test work instead of discussions relating to events in the news or more engaging

topics that are relevant to students' lives. That is the main problem on why students aren't

prepared. Students are mainly learning about pointless things that are not relevant to our daily

lives or learning about what's on an upcoming test. Russell Rumberger, a professor of education

at the University of California, says these "so-called exit exams, which are administered by many

states are not designed to assess college readiness, but rather some more basic level of

proficiency" (Ostashevsky 3). These tests that high schoolers are taking are pointless in some

ways because they are not preparing students for college, they are made to assess a basic level of

skill. Bernstein also says that he "could not simultaneously prepare them [his students] to do well

on that portion of the test and teach them to write in a fashion that would properly serve them at

higher levels of education" (Strauss 3). Meaning that, he could not prepare his students for the
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test that week and teach them on how to properly write for the higher level classes. Yes, it is

possible to do that, but the teachers are forced to prepare them for the test, not teach them about

these other topics.

Furthermore, the No Child Left Behind law has been in effect since 2002 (Strauss 1) and

has been a main cause for these testing requirements. "In states that tested social studies or

science, the tests did not count for 'adequate yearly progress' under No Child Left Behind"

(Strauss 2). Also, "the level of writing required for such tests often does not demand that higher-

level thinking be demonstrated" (Strauss 1). Therefore, this is another reason on why these

students are not prepared. These testing requirements are limiting what they are learning in the

classroom. If teachers were not forced to prepare students for tests, they would be able to teach

them what college classes are actually like. AP classes and college in the classroom are more

advanced and can prepare students for college, but there are still test requirements that teachers

have to focus on.

Finally, high school students are not engaged with doing their work as some students.

Most students are preparing for college, they are taking AP and college in the classroom classes,

but there are still students who are not as prepared as those students. High school students are

focusing on test work, as mentioned above, and all of the work in class can stress them out,

leading them to giving up. For example, according to the Nation's Report Card (NAEP) in 2013

and 2015, students scored below a basic level in reading and math (Camera 3). High schoolers

not engaged in their work could be a reason on why these test scores are low. The tests can

prepare students for college, but the problem here is students do not want to do all the work.

Many high school students procrastinate their work, causing them to do less of their work and

turning assignments in late. Yes, the students get bad grades for this, but some still do not care. If
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a student wants to go to college, but procrastinates and turns in assignments late, he/she should

know that that will not be helping them for college. High schoolers need to be more engaging in

their work and know to focus more on this to be ready for college.

In conclusion, classes in high school are not preparing students for college work because

some classes teach at a lower-level/aren't challenging enough. The schools require the teachers to

prepare students for test instead, and students are not engaged enough in school work. Retired

high school teachers, like Kenneth Bernstein, made some points about the testing requirements.

He said how it limits what teachers can teach in the classroom, which is a main reason why this

issue exists. If schools did not always focus on tests and students did their work, they would be

more prepared for their future in college.

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Works Cited

Camera, Lauren. "High School Seniors Aren't College-Ready." U.S. News & World

Report. 27 Apr 2016. 18 Jan 2017.

Ostashevsky, Luba. "Many who pass state high school graduation tests show up to

college unprepared." High School Reform. 18 Feb 2016. Web. 18 Jan 2017.

Strauss, Valerie. "A warning to college profs from a high school teacher." The

Washington Post. 9 Feb 2013. Web. 18 Jan 2017.