The education students receive in high school is often one of the strongest determining factors for their success in college.
According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, two-thirds of college professors report that what is taught in high school does not prepare students for college.
At Plattsburgh State, some students complain about being unprepared for the transition from high school to college courses.
“Coming into college, I didn’t know what to expect,” PSUC sophomore Miranda Menard said. “I think it was a really hard adjustment coming into classes and learning how to set priorities and be more responsible for yourself, which isn’t something they really tell you that you will need to know how to do in high school.”
A recent post on the Washington Post’s website has called into question the effectiveness current public education curriculum and testing practices have on its students.
“One of the biggest failures impacting students is the politicization of our public school system,” the post said. “From a lack of consistent standards, to teacher tenure, to money and influence in schools, our students are graduating without the skill set needed to succeed in today’s economy.”
Beginning last fall, the North Country Alliance for Public Education, which consists of concerned parents and educators, have been hosting forums to discuss the implications they believe such programs as Race to the Top, No Child Left Behind, and Common Core and its corresponding curriculum have on their students.
At a forum hosted by the event last November, New York state Assemblywoman Janet Duprey voiced her opinion on this matter, saying that while she has no experience as an educator, she has listened to countless concerned citizens who believe that the current learning environment has become unhealthy.
“School just isn’t fun anymore,” Duprey said.
The main problem, Duprey said, is that because of time constraints teachers face while preparing their students for standardized tests, they are unable to spend as much time deeply exploring topics and rather have to “teach to the test.”
Duprey said she believed this would become a problem when students head to college and are then forced to re-learn the material.
In an effort to combat such problems, PSUC provides first-year student transition seminars to review previous class topics and lesssons, as well as learn productive study habits.
Email Maggie McVey at news@cardinalpointsonline.com.
