Experts and pundits warn that if we do not improve our college graduation rate, our nation’s power and status may decline more quickly, in comparison to the rise of other powers in an increasingly multi-polar world. The Center for American Progress (CAP) hosted a panel on March 18th to discuss fast-track and early college programs among low-income and minority students, and how current legislation can help the country’s youth achieve their potential.
CAP invited two sponsors of the Fast-Track to College Act, a bill that would increase federal spending directed at fast-track college education, Congressman Dale Kildee (D-MI) and Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), to open the discussion. CAP describes fast-track investments as programs that “can provide schools serving low-income students with resources and incentives to establish and support dual enrollment programs and early college high schools.” The idea is to introduce college-level classes earlier so that students can begin to work toward a degree in a comfortable, low-cost environment.
Senator Kohl said, “As our country struggles with an economic recession, we must continue to invest in our public schools. While we must carefully consider how taxpayer dollars are spent during these trying times, education, nevertheless, is one of the wisest investments we can make, and it is an investment that must be made now before our children fall even further behind.”
The Senator also mentioned that this will be the first generation that is less likely than its parents to graduate from college. He contends that in order to combat this downward trend, action must be taken and legislation passed.
About the legislation he is sponsoring, the Senator said, “This bill provides new tools and incentives for schools to attack the dropout problem and send more kids to college. In specific, this bill authorizes 140 million dollars for competitive grants to help schools create and strengthen early college high schools as well as dual enrollment programs for low-income students.”
Other questions remain, including the question of implementation. Which students will this program target? Will students be required to demonstrate any kind of responsibility in order to be eligible for government funding and early college education, or will this aid be offered regardless of achievement and demonstrated desire to work? Will this really solve the problem?
Joel Vargas, one of the participants in the discussion and the Program Director at Jobs for the Future, attempted to answer some of these questions and offer a general framework to understand the need for a fast-track investment.
The key, he explained, lies in a willingness to provide not only financial support, but social and academic support as students prepare to transition from high school to college. He pointed out that there are numerous barriers to low-income students, and money is only one of them. Besides economic difficulty, students also face intimidation and self-doubt as they approach college, he claims. Dual enrollment and early college programs can help students realize that it is possible to perform well in college courses, and can give them an idea of what to expect once they leave high school and become full-time college students.
Vargas said that right now, “students don’t have…the proactive learning strategies that they need to be successful at the college level. Fast track potentially addresses this by giving students support to succeed in college coursework.”
Some are justifiably worried about the fast-track approach to improving education. One listener present at the panel discussion asked whether fast-track programs would not simply allow high schools to become less and less effective. High schools are, after all, meant to prepare students for college. The fast track approach would essentially skip this step. Perhaps Congress should direct its focus at more effectively preparing students for college, rather than getting them into college more quickly.
As Accuracy in Academia has reported, too often, the goal is to raise the percentage of students who are graduating, rather than actually prepare students for high-level learning.
According to The Education Trust, college graduations rates have been around 60 percent, and this is certainly a cause for concern. But perhaps a greater cause for concern, and one that represents the root of the problem, is the remediation rate.
According to the College Board’s Trends in College Pricing, “Over one-third of first- and second-year college students have taken remedial courses.” These students clearly came to college unprepared, and their dropout rate should not be unexpected.
The ACT found that “while most high school teachers across subject areas believe that meeting their state’s standards prepares students for college level work, most postsecondary instructors disagree.”
Daniel Allen is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.
