Copyright© 1999 by School Services of California, Inc.
Low Performing High School Students
Urged to Attend Community Colleges
According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Education, low-performing high school students should not be encouraged to attend four-year colleges because they are at higher risk of dropping out. Instead, these students should be redirected to less costly community colleges.
Findings in the report conclude that below-average students who begin college at a four-year institution have only a one-in-four to one-in-five chance of earning a bachelor's degree. These noncompleters earn less money and accumulate more debt than students who finish their first two-years at a community college, says the report. The report also suggests that high school counselors should give more realistic advice to students with below-average scores or unclear motivation and should point out that two-year degrees can yield significant earnings benefits.
Although the report recommends that more students attend community colleges as a way to minimize drop-outs, it does not recommend increasing funding for community colleges. Its authors argue that more public funding could mean an increase of noncompleters at the community college level. The report concludes that a better K-12 education is also a way to lower the college drop-out rate.
But there some higher education experts who disagree with the findings of the report entitled: "College for All?"
Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy in Higher Education, was quoted in the "Education Beat, " stating that "the report is a pretty gross generalization about students." Many college students don't fit the straight out of high school model. They are working adults updating their skills, professionals reeducating themselves to change careers and people in technical fields who take courses to keep up with technology.
Since the report was conducted on a national level, it particularly doesn't fit California Community Colleges. California Community Colleges are heavily utilized, with more than 1.4 million students, and half of graduating high school seniors currently go to a community college before entering a four-year college.
Callan noted that the report was also short-sighted in its view of not supporting low-performers at four-year colleges and at the same time not providing additional resources to community colleges. Hopefully, this report will gather dusk on some federal bureaucrat's desk.
- Arnold Bray