Let’s Talk About College Completion: Context and Ideas Found Here

Did you know that college completion data has only been collected since the early 1990s, in part due to the efforts of our own former Senator Bill Bradley  As a former basketball player, Bradley and (another former basketball player) State Representative, Tom McMillen, wanted to understand college completion rates for athletes which led to the need to capture college completion rates more broadly.  Though collecting this data became legally required in 1990, it took nearly five years to align on the information to be collected — and it is still being debated today. 

The Superintendent, among others, has made a case for correlating academic levels to college completion rates in support of recent changes in the middle school. I am wary of where this is headed relative to the high school. My running mates, Wayne Eastman, Jeffery Bennett and I strongly oppose further changes to academic placement in the high school. 

There is little doubt that an insufficiently prepared student is less likely to graduate from college.  However, as someone who works in college enrollment and retention marketing, I know that the reasons behind student drop-out rates in college are much more complex. As I am familiar with college completion data, I also believe it is important to have context in considering and using these data. 

The first thing to take note of is the shaky integrity of college completion data.  Data collection companies like The National Student Clearinghouse utilize self-reported data from colleges and universities. The data mostly measures “traditional” students: first time, full-time college students who graduated from the same college where they started within a 3-year time span for an Associates degree or 5 years for a Bachelors degree.  Thus, students who transferred colleges, took a break or attended college part-time and graduated are not typically counted.  The number of these “non-traditional” students has been growing year over year.  Today, nearly 40% of college students would fall into this category and would not be counted among reported college graduates.

When we look at national data points around college drop-out rates we see that among the approximately 45% of students who start college and fail to complete their degree, less than one quarter leave for a reason related to academic performance.

A recent study funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (http://www.publicagenda.org/files/pdf/theirwholelivesaheadofthem.pdf) revealed that college drop-out rates are driven by a complex set of factors including the inability of many college students to balance a full time job with college studies (40% of full time college students and 60% of part-time college students in the study also had a full time job), other financial pressures including loss of financial aid, a ‘bad fit’ with the college and a lack of understanding about the value of a college degree and/or the negative impact of not having one on future income.

In addition, some fault does rest on the shoulders of higher education. As a marketing consultant working with colleges and universities, I see the majority of my clients’ marketing dollars being spent on enrollment functions and very little on retention programs.  Many post-secondary institutions do not have adequate programs to support struggling students through the college journey.

With this said, a strong foundation in K-12 is critical to college success. David Conley, Director of the Center for Educational Policy Research Center at the University of Oregon, conducted a comprehensive study which found the following elements promote college success:

• Strong foundational content knowledge developed by learning the core subjects
• Mastery of cognitive strategies expected in entry-level college courses - analysis, reasoning and argumentation, and interpretation
• Positive academic behaviors like study skills
• Understanding of college process including admissions, financial aid, college life expectations 

According the US Department of Education, nearly 30% of students in four year post-secondary institutions are taking at least one remedial class. As you would imagine, drop-out rates are higher for these students. A curriculum survey conducted by the ACT revealed that what matters most to college professors is that students have foundational skills like proper writing and grammar skills, an understanding of math foundations over limited exposure to advanced content and science processing skills. 

In an earlier piece I spoke about the importance of building content knowledge and foundational skills starting in elementary school (http://www.votesoma2012.com/madhu-pai/madhu-on-the-achievement-gap/). While all students should come to 9^th grade prepared for rigorous college-prep classes, our 8^th grade NJASK numbers show we still have work to do. Thus, it is critical that we continue to offer classes in high school which provide targeted teaching and extra support to students who need it. We would be doing a tremendous disservice to these students if we follow the middle school model in high school. 

To build cognitive skills, we should have consistent expectations of non-fiction research projects and reports starting in elementary school. We should standardize a minimum requirement of these types of projects by grade level so students have the opportunity to hone and apply these skills year over year. 

While our high school graduation criteria is aligned well with what education experts have defined as necessary coursework for college readiness, students will see increased benefits from taking more than the basic requirement of college-prep courses in high school. Thus, we must provide more opportunities for acceleration. In math, the district has made great strides with accelerated math starting in elementary school. Summer Academy has enabled many students to take Calculus by their senior year. 

We need more of these programs for Language Arts as reading and writing are the most important foundational skills required for college success. Language arts acceleration in middle school should be implemented and available to a wider body of students. The Middle School Transformation Proposal anticipates accelerated language arts will be for 12-15% of students, tied to the number of students in accelerated math.  We need to define entry criteria and we need to open up this opportunity to anyone who fulfills the entry criteria.

We should also consider acceleration in Science and Social Studies in 8^th grade.  Studies show a direct correlation between a high level sequence of science courses (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) and college graduation rates. This is especially true when these higher level classes are taken in conjunction with a higher level sequence of math. We have a number of good Social Studies electives and AP classes which help build critical thinking and analysis skills necessary for college level study. Students should be able to take more of these in high school.

We should look to incentivize students to have more AP classes and exams by having higher weighting of AP classes vs. Level 5 for class rank purposes.  In addition, both parents and students could benefit from a targeted communications effort by the Guidance Department on the post-secondary benefits (including financial) of taking AP classes in high school.  We should also look to implement innovative ways for advanced students to have more college level opportunities such as online college coursework or through partnerships with colleges and universities (caveat: there are teacher certification issues that must be worked through). 

Integrating study and organizational skills into the curriculum will help students for both secondary and post-secondary educational success.  Including study skills as part of curriculum in 5^th grade will prepare students for middle school.  It should be repeated in the high school specific to college level expectations. 

For new students who come into the district in secondary school, my running mates and I would like to see a Newcomers Program.  This program would provide information and education on the schools, academic placement, coursework and academic expectations, and resources available. 

Educating parents and students on college success should also take form in a communications campaign in high school touching on topics such as:

• What's required for college success, especially adjusting to the first year when a third of student drop-outs occur.  We can partner with local colleges and universities in the area to bring in faculty to talk about expectations of professors and college life. 
• Determining the best college for you and 'reaching' for colleges that you think you can't get into.  Studies show that students often under-estimate what colleges they can get into and sell themselves short.
• Understanding the first steps toward college, including practical, specific support for navigating the application and financial aid process.
• College paths (and colleges) to consider based on career aspirations.

If we are to fulfill on the district’s goal of preparing our students for a 4-year college, we must focus on what matters: academic rigor, developing a strong curriculum that builds content knowledge, cognitive skills and life skills as well as better communication with students and parents about what it takes to get in, and stay in, college.  Let’s move beyond discussions of deleveling and let’s start working on realistic solutions to get our kids college ready.