The New York Times is reporting the deal between Udacity and San Jose State University, an agreement for online remediation courses. While many may debate online schools and online courses, within the article is the following statement:
Ellen N. Junn, provost and president for academic affairs at the university in San Jose, said the California State University System faces a crisis because more than 50 percent of entering students cannot meet basic requirements.
“They graduate from high school, but they cannot pass our elementary math and English placement tests,” she said.
The emphasis on more than half of the entering students to the university should shock parents. Your child may have graduated from high school – without the knowledge necessary to be successful in a college or a university. Worse they cannot pass an entrance exam on elementary school math and English. Ouch.
If this statistic is correct then imagine the kids who graduated from high school but did not gain entrance to a 4-year institution. Why are high schools graduating these individuals?
I wonder if students with low academic performance graduate, because public school districts do not use practices they can defend and win in a court challenge for not graduating someone. If they did not graduate them, then how many districts could meet rising state expectations for graduation rates?