One Size Fits All?

In considering questions about dropout rates and graduation rates, would it be too impertinent to ask what graduation is for?

Of course, we all probably consider graduation to be a worthwhile goal and achievement.

But what then? Should every young person go to college?

Those nice folks at the State Department of Education (DOE) seem to think so.

What else can one deduce from the sudden and unilateral adoption of the SAT to replace the 11th grade MEA (Maine Educational Assessment), a shift from measuring achievement to measuring "aptitude" for college.

Couple this with statements from the Commissioner such as this: "I want all high school graduates to be equipped to go to college*." Add to that her apparent support for the bill requiring all seniors to fill out a college application.

There should be no objection to the level of achievement these kinds of goals seem intended to encourage.

But most adults know that not everyone belongs in college -- for a variety of reasons. There are many other "paths", though the Department seems to see only one.

Now comes word of a study that indicates that only a small percentage of high school graduates are indeed academically ready for college, with an almost equal number completely academically unqualified for college work.

Only a quarter of high school students who take a full set of college-preparatory courses — four years of English and three each of mathematics, science and social studies — are well prepared for college, according to a study of last year’s high school graduates released yesterday by ACT, the Iowa testing organization.

The study analyzed about 1.2 million students who took the ACT, one of the country’s major college admissions tests, along with the SAT, and graduated from high school last June. The study predicted whether students had a good chance of scoring a C or better in introductory college courses based on their test scores and the success rates of past test takers. Only 26 percent were ready for college-level work in all four core areas. Another 19 percent were not adequately prepared in any of them. (NYT article; study; summary)

So the great middle 55% are only partially qualified.

So as dismal as the dropout and graduation numbers are, there's an even longer way to go if -- especially in the eyes of the DOE -- we are truly to graduate large numbers of students "equipped to go to college."

One has to wonder: maybe there are other ways to educate young people. Maybe, just maybe, one size doesn't fit all?

*Bangor Daily News, 3/1/07