Public school kids not prepared for college

Although enrollment is increasing in CUNY schools, many students are taking remedial courses in English and mathematics because they might not be fully prepared for college.

By taking a look into recent college graduation rates and the percentages of remedial course work taken, there are questions about if high school students are prepared for the college workload.

There are many ways a student could be unprepared for college life. Students may not have been challenged properly or driven towards a higher level of learning so when they make it into college they have found that the standard is different.

Charlotte Toates, an incoming freshman from a public school now attending a public college stated on Gotham School's Web site, "I felt that maybe I could have taken harder classes to get me prepared…my expectations were reading but not as much reading as I thought." She added, "I wish I had learned how to take notes better and learned how to memorize five chapters of things for big exams."

A common surprise for incoming college students is the amount of work given. A high school workload is very different from college classes, with all the reading and  papers the overall standard again is set much higher.

The Daily News reported that in Fall 2008 only 19.2 percent of high school graduates had the required math skills needed to get in to college.

John Garvey, former Dean of Collaborative Programs for CUNY, told Gotham Schools, "that most high schools don't give students good information about how to apply for college or prepare for the work there. To boost their chances of college success, all high school students should take full course loads…and high schools should offer more access to college-level courses."

Garvey also reported to The Daily News, "Although New York City's public schools are graduating- more students and more of them are going on to college, high rates of remedial course-taking and low graduation rates indicate a need to improve academic preparation."

It looks like this problem can be solved. Many generations before  have gone off to college and with less of the amount of resources our graduates have access to today. If students receive opportunities to prepare more in high school right from the beginning it will lead to them having successful college careers.

Students new to college need to learn where their college career is headed by choosing a major, joining clubs and working towards a large life goal. Being a student is an extremely important job and they should receive every opportunity to be prepared to handle these situations. If students received help along the way it will boost morale and graduation rates.