I have seen this data in a few presentations in the last few months. Now eSchoolNews has an article on the topic. They state that only 34% of high school graduates are ready for college.
Another scary statistic – only 18% of 9th graders will graduate on time and earn an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. Here is another quote that sounds all too familiar.
“Habits of mind” refers to the skills that professors consistently identify as critical-thinking skills, such as analysis, interpretation, problem solving, and reasoning skills. Key content knowledge is the essential knowledge of each discipline that prepares students for advanced study, or study of the “big ideas” in each content area.
These are the same skills I see in the new ISTE standards for students.
The article also quotes Kim McClung, a high school teacher
most teachers teach to the “lowest common denominator, but they need to expect the best from every single student.”
Much of this is a by-product of No Child Left Behind’s focus on the bottom tier of students. Our teachers must be experts in differentiated instruction so that all students can progress each year. Are we now leaving the college-bound students behind?