Hi everyone, this is kinda long. 
 
I had the opportunity to read thru the 2 articles that have been posted
during this exchange on the GED and college admissions.  I have some
thoughts, comments, and questions for you all.
 
In the article posted earlier today ("Paying Double:  Inadequate High
Schools and Community College Remediation") there are some alarming
statistics:
 
*	Nearly half (42%) of students in Community Colleges (CCs) are
taking remedial courses
*	20% of students in 4 year colleges are taking remedial courses
*	CCs are quickly becoming the space where students who need to
take catch up courses must go (11 states have passed LAWS banning
remedial courses in 4 year institutions - I am assuming that other
states will follow suit)
 
The article notes that in addition to students arriving at higher ed
institutions without adequate skills in reading, writing, and math, they
are also poorly prepared in their study habits and in understanding and
managing complex material.  
 
While about half of the students in CC remedial courses fall into
categories including retraining, re-education, and learning English
language skills (so these folks could be of any age), the other half are
in fact recent or fairly recent High School grads who are taking
remedial courses in order to gain the skills and knowledge that they
should have achieve/received in their high schools.  In addition, the
leading predictor for dropping out of college is the need upon entry for
a remedial course in reading.
 
The other article, sent by Donna Brian the other day ("At 2-Year
Colleges, Students Eager But Unready"), the following text-bits really
hit me hard:
 
*	The young man featured in the article can balance his checkbook
(a complex action and necessary practical life skill), but struggles to
remember mathematical notions like Pythagorean theory, sine, cosine, and
tangent.  
*	That there is presently a movement among public universities to
"crack down on ill-prepared students" (also noted in the first article
above).
*	That many students are "shocked" when they learn upon entry to
college that their high school experience has not prepared them for
higher ed.  It is their assumption that HS would/should do this, but
instead, they find they need remedial courses first.
*	"It's the math that's killing us." (see page 2 of this article)
 
What does this mean for us in adult education?  If it's so clear that
our youth is not prepared for the rigors of higher ed in terms of both
academic skills, and critical thinking and study skills, then we all
expect to see a lot of these folks in our adult education programs.  How
do we work with this?  Will we become the next space where all the
"remediation" takes place?  Are we already there?  What role does
testing and accountability play at the high school level (which has
invented the new term "Push Outs") - is it exacerbating this trend at
the expense of our children's minds and capabilities, and of course the
future of our economy and generations?  How about the GED?  Where does
this fit in with this scenario?  Which is better, which is worse at this
point:  a HS diploma or a GED, and does this matter?  I know the
research says that it does, but the emerging information we keep reading
is that our HSs are also not up to snuff.  
 
What about that other 50% in the CCs - those folks of any age who are
there because they need retraining (lost their job for whatever reason,
or got laid off), re-education of older students (they need way better
reading, writing, math, computer, critical thinking skills in order to
compete for living-wage jobs), students who are in need of improving
their English language skills.  All these folks sound familiar to me
when I think back on my work as a program administrator and practitioner
in the field.  Does this mean that ABE/ESOL needs to prepare students to
go into remedial courses in CCs??  Do we need to surpass what HSs are
doing, and what remedial courses are there for?  Is ABE equal to the
remedial level of study in the CCs?  What do we need to do to go beyond
the GED level with our students?  If high school diplomas do not mean
that with continued diligence and work, you can enter higher ed at a
successful level and stay there until you graduate, then where does that
leave us helping students to achieve a GED?  
 
marie
 
 
Marie Cora
NIFL Assessment Discussion List Moderator
marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com
Coordinator, LINCS Assessment Special Collection
http://literacy.kent.edu/Midwest/assessment/
 
 
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