Summary: One of Choice Media's best Ed Reform Minute Podcasts of 2013.A high school degree means something. Or does it?Imagine you did really well in high school. You got good grades in all your classes. Teachers loved you, and administrators knew your name. And they all thought you were clearly ready for college. But then imagine, you found out you weren't.A newly released survey conducted by the ACT reports that in 2012, when you ask high school teachers across the country if their students are well prepared for college, 89% say yes. But if you ask college professors the same thing about their incoming students, only 26% say students are prepared.And it's a trend. Colleges are describing student preparedness in a way that bears no resemblance to high school GPAs.The Colorado Department of Higher Education released a report last week that reported that 40% of Colorado’s high school graduates needed to take a remedial course in at least one subject. Remedial courses cost students extra in the sense that they don't provide credits toward college graduation. They’re classes designed to make sure you have enough knowledge to even start your college studies.Another way to assess the preparedness of American high school kids would be to compare them to their international counterparts. Steven Simeona is a counselor at Seattle Central Community College.The international students, I mean what a difference you know? The international students are very well, their math skills are very good. We had students coming in at 18 years old that can do high level calculus, and you just can't find too many American students that can do that.Chris Baron is an English professor at San Diego City College, and he says sometimes even the students who thought they did really well in high school, still need remediation.I do get the occasional student that will say 'Well I was in AP English, why am I in developmental classes?' I think for those students it's a conundrum. 'Why am I here? What happened?'Some would suggest that all of this isn't the high schools' fault, as there are cultural changes that aren't helping matters. James Mense is an Associate Professor in the English Department at St. Louis Community College.I've received a number of writings that were wholly constructed on smart phones, which does not make for good writing.We asked Professor Mense what's so bad about a student writing his paper on a cell phone.Have you seen people use cell phones? They're usually walking; they're usually listening to a television show, or some are even driving. Five to six grammatical mistakes in every sentence. Almost unrecognizable words that because of wrong letters or transposed letters.We gave you some national data and state data. Now let's kick it down to a city level. It's about New York City high school graduates who then move on to the City University community college system. According to WCBS, the percentage of those New York City high school grads who need remedial college course work: 80 percent.All the day's news in education reform at ChoiceMedia.TV.© 2013 Choice Media
