Plain talk about college

All the high schools I have worked in have been college prep high schools.  Consequently, the students who attended there tended to get quite a bit of information and help when it came to applying to college.   Perhaps I was naive when I entered the profession, but I actually believed that all schools pretty much provided the same info to their students when it came to applying to college.  That belief was shattered when I volunteered to work at the counselors’ table at local college fairs.  It was there that I witnessed the gap – sometimes chasm – between the assistance students in college prep schools were receiving as opposed to those who were not enrolled in those types of schools.

The reason for the gap is simple:  the counselors in those schools are asked to do the impossible.  Their caseload is too large to do much more than put out fires.  While I believe most would love to do more college counseling, there simply is no time to do so when you are doing scheduling, watching out for at-risk kids, and a host of other duties.  I admire their dedication and commitment in spite of being in a fairly consistent state of being overworked.

Here’s what worries me sometimes.  I think parents are often like I was in those early years, assuming that all students get pretty much the same help with college stuff no matter where they go to school.  They have no idea what their students aren’t getting and how much more help they may actually need.

As an independent college counselor, my only job is to give kids the help they need to find the right college and get through the application process.  I am right there when they have a question or need a different perspective.  I go to conferences and stay as current as possible with the changes and trends that are going on in higher education.  I know how to find schools that have good support for students with learning differences, as well as those with good dance programs.  I even know a lot of the admissions representatives that work in my area, so I feel comfortable calling them and asking questions. That’s what it takes to do my job well.

The thing is, not everyone can afford to hire an independent college counselor – nor does everyone need to.  Sometimes all a student needs is a little help and a bit of direction.  For those students, I am offering a very affordable workshop on how to conduct your own college search.  (This is one of the most essential, and difficult, parts of the college application process.)

If this sounds like something that might be just what you need, there’s still room this Saturday, March 20.  The workshop is being held in Tacoma – which is a really easy drive from Seattle on the weekend.  For more information and to reserve your spot,  go to: www.collegenavigation.net/workshops.

The NCEE (National Center on Education and the Economy) announced on Wednesday that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given a generous $1.5 million planning grant to a program in eight states that could grant 10th graders a high school diploma if they are able to pass a board examination. Additionally it said that the 8 states involved intend to apply for some of the $350 million in federal stimulus money designated for improving public school testing to make up the difference in the cost for instituting this plan. The motivation behind this plan is to reduce the number of students who arrive at college so unprepared for college level math and English classes that they have to take remedial classes.

I may be way off base here, but when students are unable to pass a test, shouldn’t you try to find a better way to teach the material rather than giving them a new and improved test? Perhaps the money would be better spent on training elementary school teachers and on programs that support students who are struggling academically in 3rd, 4th or 5th grade. Because, you see, if you struggle too long you start to give up. By the time you’re in high school, no high stakes test or diploma-shaped carrot is going to restore your motivation or self-confidence. You’ve already failed too many times to care.

I cringe when I think of $350 million dollars in stimulus money being used to improve testing. There are plenty of good tests out there such as the EXPLORE or PLAN which provide schools and students with very detailed information about where the academic deficits are. And, hold onto your hats, those same results can tell schools which areas in their curriculum are in most need of improvement. Yep, those clever folks over at ACT actually figured out which educational benchmarks a student needs to meet, as well as when they should have met them, in order to be successful in college. I guess that’s one of the reasons why a state like Colorado requires, and pays for, all students to take the ACT – which measures what a student has learned – so they can see where the trouble spots are in their curriculum. So there, I just saved those 8 states at least a million dollars by telling them about these tests.

Now they can take the rest of the money and invest it where it needs to be invested in order to actually make a difference – in the classroom. Reward the teachers who engage students and teach them how to be mentors to new teachers. Train teachers in new methodologies, as well as how to recognize learning disabilities in their earliest stages. Consistently provide the personnel and programs necessary to support the students who are struggling so they can be successful.

There will always be kids who are academically ready for college work in 10th grade, but let’s not forget that they’re still kids who have some growing up to do. If you take them out of the high school in favor of them getting an early start in college, everyone suffers – including them. Why not keep them where they are and provide challenging extracurricular programs in math and science, writing and literature, as well as in the visual and performing arts?

I guarantee that once you invest in programs that address the real student needs, there will be fewer students who need remediation in college – and perhaps even more students who will consider going to college.

Maybe you’re saying to yourself, “That’s not realistic.” You may be right, but how is adding yet another high stakes test to the mix going to address the real reasons why students aren’t prepared for college? If a student is not being taught and/or understanding the concepts they need, no test in the world can change the outcome.