NY Times article about lack of readiness for college

[Gregatron]

I teach at a medium size Midwestern university. (Hope it's okay that I invade here.) One of my colleagues sent me an email of this article: Many students are coming out of high school not ready for college. I see this myself. I think most of you guys represent a smarter portion of college students, and since I know many of you (in that message board way of "knowing"), I thought I would get your opinions on this.

This is the response I sent my colleague:
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While I am only in my first full year of teaching on the college level, I was once a public school teacher (in Mississippi). I saw teaching being forced to literally "teach to the test." (I was a special education teacher, so I was not required to do this.) IMO this seems to suppress critical thinking and abstract thinking skills that are so important to succeeding on a college level.

Sometimes I am simply amazed at the gibberish I get when students turn in papers. Not only can many of them not write a coherent sentences, but they can't even think well.

While I am only in my first year of teaching at this level, my mother is also a Ph.D. She tells me that this problem has been getting worse over the past several years -- students, she contends, are just getting dumber and dumber (though she puts it much less bluntly than that). We both believe this is, at least partially, the result of increasing reliance on standardized testing in our public schools as benchmarks to "success".

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Feel free to share your relevant thoughts or experiences.

[Tiburon]

I'm a HS senior right now, and I agree that standardized testing distracts students and teachers from learning. In our school, they spend weeks before the state tests teaching us "test-taking strategies" and trying to motivate us to actually try hard so they can get funding from the state. Unfortuantely we learn nothing useful.

Also, nobody knows how to write anymore. When we peer edit each others papers I'm amazed at the lack of ability to spell, use grammar, or write a complete sentence. If they can't do this, how can they be expected to do things like effectively analyze evidence? I think the problem is there aren't enough writing assignments. For example, in my senior english class we wrote two papers the whole term, while every night we'd have some sort of pointless worksheet to do. Then when people get to college they can't handle writing papers on a consistent basis.

[Gregatron]

I will tell you this -- and this is just the truth: from your post I can tell you write better than 90+% of the students.

[Tiburon]

Thanks, hopefully I'll be part of that 25% that's ready for college.

[T50_Omaha8]

I think this is a problem that starts long before high school, so I wouldn't put all of the blame on standardized tests.

Here's a wacky theory:
Coming to college is becoming a more and more common thing. In the past, going to college was considered a big step up and a big deal; nowadays, NOT going to college is considered pretty bad. Maybe more and more people who would have opted out of extra school in the past are being socially pressured into going now, and this is the consequence.

But yeah high school classes suck IMO and do little to help develop abstract thought. I say we force the students to shape up or fail them.

But it goes beyond writing too. When I was a TA for a physical geography class I was simply amazed at how difficult it could be to explain concepts like a rain shadow or angle of sun declination to people, and how they would just memorize what happens instead of gain a real understanding for why it happens. IMO the second way is MUCH easier and more rewarding, but our education system has taught people--even the fully capable ones--just to memorize.

[MrMon]

The standardized tests are not the cause of this, the article clearly points out that the problem is you can label a course anything you want, but whether or not it contains what it needs to is another matter. The idea behind the standardized tests is, schools shouldn't be able to get away with this any longer, as everyone is held accountable to the same standard, regardless of what their courses are titled.

I am transitioning to teaching (physics) and I can tell you based on what I have observed so far, the idea that students are being held to low standards is very true in some districts. I observed in an almost all-black district and the courses were pathetic. What was being taught was boring, low-level, and not being taught well. The teacher certainly meant well, so whether she felt compelled to teach at that low a level, I don't know, but she was also teaching outside her area of training. Something seemed missing in a lot of the kids as well, like they hadn't been taught the basics somewhere along the line.

In contrast, I've also seen excellent schools, where students really do do top level work. There are screw-up kids here too, but they don't let them dominate the classroom. So it's possible to teach the kids, but some schools clearly do a better job than others. But the standardized tests have little to do with it.

[doucy]

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IMO this seems to suppress critical thinking and abstract thinking skills that are so important to succeeding on a college level.

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You don't need to think critically or abstractly to succeed in college.

[theben]

Greg,

Most HS in the USA are horrible. I'd wager to say that 90% or more HS in this country are lousy.

When I started at my university I was as indolent as can be, (50% attendance rate, may be highballing) yet I made 7 A's and 1 B+ my first year. Most people at my university came from low quality public schools, took less demanding schedules, and struggled.

Some of the many academic issues w/ schools these days:

-lack of quality teachers with a passion for teaching
-poor emphasis on math/science
-poor instruction on writing
-lack of challenging tests

Just take a look at most school's AP results. You'll have kids making A's in HS classes who struggle to get a 2 or 3 on an AP exam. Most high schools will take pride in having students merely pass AP exams, rather than actually doing well.

[catalyst]

I think the problem is much more widespread and deep-rooted than standardized tests.

[Misfire]

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I think the problem is much more widespread and deep-rooted than standardized tests.

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I agree. Reliance on and teaching to standardized tests is merely the symptom of a broken system.