Student Aspirations and Readiness for College

1. Student Aspirations and Readiness for College Lynne Miller Professor of Educational Leadership Russell Chair in Philosophy and Education University of Southern Maine January, 2007

2. What We Know About Maine Kids • 80% of Maine eighth graders say they want to go to college • 74-78% of students who begin high school graduate

3. Maine Kids • Of the 74-78% who managed to graduate from Maine public schools in 2005: • 65-70% took the SAT • 65% were accepted to college • 51-53% attended a two or four year college in the fall • about 30% will earn a bachelor’s degree Less than 50% of students who matriculated at Maine’s public universities graduated within six years

4. Graduation Rates at Maine Public Universities Education Trust 2005

5. What is the Problem? • Is it an aspirations problem ? 80% of eighth graders aspire to college • Or is it a disconnect between aspirations and readiness? More than 50 % of students who want to go to college are not prepared to be admitted and 25% are admitted but are not ready for college work

6. Two Aspirations/Readiness Disconnects • Disconnect #1: High School Graduation ≠College Admission • Disconnect #2: College Admission ≠ Placement into College Level Courses

7. Disconnect # 1:High School Graduation ≠ College Admission • A high school diploma is not sufficient to gain admission to college

8. HS Graduation vs. College Admission Requirements

9. Preparatory” course of study in Disconnect #2: College Admission ≠ Placement into College Level Courses • Completion of a “College Prep” high school curriculum is not sufficient to enter and pass 100 level courses

10. ACT Study Results Source: (2005) ACT, Inc.

11. What Happens to Students whoare Admitted but Not Prepared • They are placed in developmental courses before they can proceed to college level courses • They pay tuition for these courses but do not earn credit toward graduation • Note: Placement is based first on SAT scores. Those who do not make the cut-off take campus placement tests for final placement decisions

12. Enrollment in Remedial Courses • Nationally: 50% of entering students • UMaine campuses: about 25% • Over 700 students are enrolled in remedial or “developmental” writing courses each fall • Over 1500 are enrolled in remedial or “developmental” math courses each fall

13. At Maine Community Colleges: 37% of incoming Students Take Remedial Courses

14. Remediation And Graduation Source: Kirst, M. (2004). The high school/college disconnect. Educational Leadership, 62(3), 51-55.

15. Who is Most Affected: Children Growing up in Low Income Families >$90,000: 1 in 2 graduate $35,000 to $61,000: 1 in 10 graduate < $35,000: 1 in 17 graduate • Source: Ross Douthat, R. (2005). Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class. New York: Hyperion.

16. Graduation/Pell Rates at Maine Publics First time/full time (2004) Education Trust 2005

17. Maine Elite Private Colleges : Six Year Graduation Rates/ Pell • 6 YR GRAD PELL • Bowdoin 89.1 % 12.8% • Colby 84.6 8.5 • Bates 84.0 9.1

18. The High School Course of Study Changes the Odds • Reading above grade level prepares students for accessing college texts • Writing expository and analytic essays prepares students for writing in college courses • Mastering the algebra-geometry-algebra sequence prepares students for the quantitative demands of college • One math course beyond Algebra 2 doubles the odds of earning a degree

19. Connecting Aspirations to Readiness • Ensure that Maine students who aspire to college have access to a course of study that adequately prepares them for college level work without remediation. • Ensure that those who don’t aspire will have assistance in changing their aspirations and how they think about their futures • Ensure that more Maine students who enter our public universities progress toward a degree in a timely fashion

20. Develop skills in reading, public speaking and writing Chronological and critical understanding of American literature Challenging reading load (10 or more novels plus short stories and poetry) Express understanding in clear, organized manner through class discussion and written assignments, expository and analytic writing Write a research paper, with hypothesis, supporting evidence, and conclusion Required summer reading list Develop skills in grammar, vocabulary, oral presentations and speeches Surveys American literature Studies works from college preparatory anthology and selected novels Composition focuses on narrative and descriptive essays and introduces expository writing Research paper required Comparing Courses: 11th Grade English Honors “College Prep”

21. Studies a class of functions—definition, graphs, properties, and mathematical models. Topics covered include: Linear Quadratic Exponential Logarithmic Rational algebraic Irrational algebraic Higher degree functions Conic sections Sequences Probability Statistics Extends and reviews concepts learned in Algebra 1 Introduces more advanced subjects Logarithms Coordinate geometry Probability Comparing Courses: Algebra 2 “College Prep” Honors

22. College Readinessin Writing: Report to the Field Chancellor’s Committee Report on College Readiness in Writing Presented to the Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System (June 2005) .

23. High School vs. College Experience “ I am not asking how you feel about this issue; I’m asking what you think about this issue.”  • College writing is expository or analytical (seldom narrative) and moves beyond personal experience • University focus = Abstraction • Argument • Analysis • Discussion • Writing about Texts   

24. Major Premise : Writing is Essential to Understanding • Correct standard written English is assumed • Creating complex theses is required • Distinguishing analysis from summary is critical • Writing goes beyond personal experience puts the “college” in college writing

25. Near the end of her essay, Tompkins writes, “What this means for the problem I’ve been addressing is that I piece together the story of European –Indian relations as best I can, believing this version up to a point , that version not at all, another: almost entirely, according to what seems reasonable and plausible given everything I know. And this is, as I have shown, what I was already doing in the back of my mind without realizing it, because there was nothing else I could do” Please write a four page essay in which you consider Tompkins’s conclusion. Do you agree with her? How do you evaluate evidence that Tompkins presents to support her position? Finally, it is important that you make clear somewhere in your essay what you think Tompkins’s conclusion is College Writing: Sample Assignment English 100

26. Sample Writing Assignment: School and Society • A 10-15 page research paper • Cover sheet with title • Introduction that describes the topic • A literature review using peer review articles or book chapters • A description of your methods • A discussion of findings • Properly and consistently formatted list of references, using APA format

27. ESP 102/126 Formal Laboratory Reports • Laboratory reports are your tool for expressing what you did, why you did it, and what you learned in the process. Even if your understanding of the procedure, techniques, and results is perfect and your results error-free, a poorly written report will suggest that you did not understand what you have done. Good writing is good writing, be it creative fiction, an editorial, journal article, or scientific communication. Writing reports is not difficult if you remember a few guidelines about writing and the structure of a good report. • Your formal lab report must have the following components in the following order. • Title • Introduction • Materials and Methods • Results • Discussion • Literature cited

28. Develop skills in reading, public speaking and writing Chronological and critical understanding of American literature Challenging reading load (10 or more novels plus short stories and poetry) Express understanding in clear, organized manner through class discussion and written assignments, expository and analytic writing Write a research paper, with hypothesis, supporting evidence, and conclusion Required summer reading list Develop skills in grammar, vocabulary, oral presentations and speeches Surveys American literature Studies works from college preparatory anthology and selected novels Composition focuses on narrative and descriptive essays and introduces expository writing Research paper required Comparing Courses: 11th Grade English Honors “College Prep”

29. COLLEGE READINESSin Math Chancellor’s Committee Report on College Readiness in Math Presented to the Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System (January,2006 Revised March 2006) .

30. Mathematics is the language of science“The world demands advanced quantitative literacy, and no matter what a student's postsecondary field of study ... more than a ceremonial visit to college-level mathematics is called for."

31. System Wide Standards for General Education Math • Mathematical Reasoning • Computation • Algebra • Geometry • Data Analysis and Statistics • www.maine.edu/collegeready

32. Preparing Students for College Level Math • Students who are prepared for college level math are able to • perform mathematical operations and manipulations by hand or with a calculator when appropriate • understand basic concepts and definitions • apply, interpret and communicate results.

33. ESP 101 assignment • A typical toilet uses 18-26 liters (5-7 gallons) per flush (assume 22 liters per flush). Low-flush toilets use 6 liters (1.5 gallons) per flush. Assume that each of 10,000 university students flushes 5 times per day. • How many liters of water would be saved in one day if all toilets were low flush? • How many liters could be saved in a year? • A little over half the students successfully do this calculation

34. Studies a class of functions—definition, graphs, properties, and mathematical models. Topics covered include: Linear Quadratic Exponential Logarithmic Rational algebraic Irrational algebraic Higher degree functions Conic sections Sequences Probability Statistics Extends and reviews concepts learned in Algebra 1 Introduces more advanced subjects Logarithms Coordinate geometry Probability Comparing Courses: Algebra 2 “College Prep” Honors

35. What College Readiness Means • Reading and struggling to understand a variety of texts • Writing about texts and data for a variety of purposes and a variety of audiences • Performing calculations, interpreting quantitative data, and understanding concepts of algebra and quantitative reasoning • AND mastering time and self management

36. Preparing Students for College Level Writing • A writing curriculum ( middle through high school) that progresses to college ready skills and competencies • A firm foundation in writing grammatically correct and increasingly complex sentences and paragraphs • Practice in writing expository and analytic essays as well as technical reports • A senior year writing course for all college bound students that stresses writing for diverse audiences and purposes • Integration of writing in disciplines other than English • Provide all students in “college prep” English courses with access to the tools they need for successful transitions to college

37. Preparing Students for College Level Math • A math curriculum ( middle through high school) that progresses to college ready skills and competencies • A firm foundation in algebraic and quantitative reasoning • A senior year math course for all college bound students; this may take the form of: • the completion of the algebra-geometry-algebra sequence • an advanced course in algebraic/quantitative reasoning for those not intending to major in a math or science field • pre-calc or calc for those intending to major in a math or science field • Decreased reliance on calculators

38. The Optimal College Ready Curriculum • Four years of English with emphasis on reading varied texts and writing about them • Four years of math at least through the algebra-geometry-algebra sequence • Three to four years of reading/writing intensive history/social science • Three to four years of lab intensive science: biology, chemistry, physics content with writing • At least two years of a language other than English

39. College Readiness • Aspirations • Preparation • Persistence