College and Career Readiness

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The Issue

According to the NCES, nationwide, thirty to sixty percent of college freshmen require remedial courses in order to meet college admission requirements (2004). In Texas, 38 percent of Texas students enrolled in two-year colleges and technical schools and 24 percent of students at four-year public institutions took remedial courses during the 2006 academic year (Terry 2007). Twenty-eight percent of colleges in the United States report that students spend at least one year in remedial programs making it impossible to earn a degree in 2 or 4 years (NCES, 2003). These students have graduated from high school unprepared for participation in college courses. Unprepared student face both academic and financial barriers. Not preparing students for coursework and careers after high school is expensive. Remedial education courses are estimated to cost student one billion dollars annually. In addition, according to the ACT, despite participating in remedial classes, students who require remedial classes are significantly less likely to graduate from college (2005).

College preparation is not the only area in which schools are failing students. According to Achieve, Inc. (2005), 39% of high school graduates in the workforce say that they have deficiencies. When asked about being prepared for future jobs, forty-six percent say that they are deficient in the skills needed. These shortcomings in the education system will escalate when in the next 10 years, 80% of job openings will require education or training past the high school level (Achieve, 2010). One third of jobs will require a bachelor’s degree. Lower educational attainment is a national problem. Competing countries now boast more workers with associates degree...

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...e expense of vocational courses. Their study concluded that tougher course requirements in the four cores did not reduce the number of vocational courses students took. Furthermore, it increased the number of students taking computer and health related vocational courses. Increased graduation requirements were found to have a positive correlation with students pursuing vocational training after graduation. Students in state with higher graduation requirements produced graduates 5% more likely to obtain associates degrees or a bachelor’s degree. Also, higher academic graduation requirements positively affected wage rates. For each additional academic course required for graduation a $423 increase in the yearly earnings was reported. Bishop and Mane caution that these gains are driven by students in specific occupations involving computers and health care.

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