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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (77464)	10/14/2004 10:06:55 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793838

Lending a helping hand Number two pencil Cal State would like to reduce the numbers of incoming freshmen who require remedial classes, so they're doing early assessment on California juniors. The test used is an extended version of the state standardized exam, and the results are depressing: Just more than half of California 11th- graders who took an early assessment test were college-ready in math, and only one- fifth were prepared in English, according to results from the California State University's new high school testing program. Forty percent of California high school juniors this spring volunteered to take part in CSU's early assessment program. Fifty-five percent of math test-takers were deemed college-ready, as were 22 percent of students tested in English. So these were the kids who were motivated and organized enough to volunteer. Presumably all of them are planning on attending college. And yet only 22% are ready in English? Good heavens. Cal State hoped to identify the problem areas, and they certainly have. What they do with this information now will be the crucial part. A partnership between the Long Beach-based state university system and California's K-12 schools, the program aims to smooth the transition from high school to college by giving struggling eleventh-graders extra help during their senior year so that they can avoid remedial course work if they are admitted to a CSU... To help struggling students during their senior year, CSU faculty have developed a new 12th-grade writing and reading course and have set up Web sites offering math and writing tutorials and feedback. The diagnostic and tutorial services for reading and math that CSU is providing look to be substantial, and solid. I believe, though, that this project is essentially a tacit admission by CSU that college-bound students are no longer expected to acquire the necessary academic skills in high school. Some students have always needed extra help to reach the college level, and certainly high schools do not design every curriculum as college-prep worthy. But a program on this scale is obviously intended to remediate a large number of students who will earn a California high school diploma and expect to attend college, yet have not been adequately prepared. Is it a better idea than just offering remedial classes in college? Yes. Should the high schools involved feel just a tiny bit of embarassment that this is so necessary? Yes to that, too. kimberlyswygert.com