Double Journal 10

Even students who perform well in school are often unprepared for the challenges that they encounter after graduation, in their work lives as well as their personal lives. Many students learn to solve specific types of problems, but they are unable to adapt and improvise in response to the unexpected situations that inevitably arise in today’s fast-changing world.

"The study looked at students at nearly 400 high schools nationwide who took the ACT last year and found that high school graduates who took the basic core curriculum college prep courses—four years of English and three each of math, science, and social studies—were unprepared for college...not only do high school courses need to be more rigorous, but states need to specify the number and kinds of courses that students need to take—and those courses need to be aligned with state standards that are driven by the requirements of postsecondary schools and the workplace"

I completely agree with this. I took several college courses through my high school, but once I got to college I was severely unprepared. I think this is because my high school's main focus was high stakes testing (Stanford 9, WESTEST, ACT, etc.) My high school never taught us study skills. Never once did I study for a test in high school and once I got to college I wrongly expected to do the same. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Whelan, D.L., Study says fewer than 25 percent of high school kids will succeed in entry-level college courses. School Library Journal. 6/1/2007.