As if we needed it:
The Freshman Foul: Poor ACT Scores
High School Students Score Lower than Ever on ACT: 28 Percent Unprepared to Pass Even One College-Level Subject
It’s the annual mid-August ritual for college students: moving into their dorms. But tests suggest an alarming number of high school graduates are arriving unprepared for college level class work, reports CBS News national correspondent Jim Axelrod.“I have always had a hard time with math and science those are my two hardest subjects,” Jeanette Settembre, a sophomore at Manhattan College, told CBS News. ” I don’t feel like I was prepared in those two subjects for when I went to college.”
Those are two of four subjects measured by the ACT – a test taken mainly in the Midwest and the South that measures if students know enough to pass first year college courses.
Some 28 percent were unprepared to pass even one of the subjects – math, reading, English and science — ACT measures.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do — especially in math and science,” said Cyndie Schmeiser, ACT’s Education Division president and chief operating officer.
A lot. One recent study concluded high school students in 23 countries were outperforming U.S. students in math. Students in 16 countries were outperforming U.S. students in science. And nine countries did better in literacy.
While some reformers encourage students to take harder courses in high school, others say the solution lies in a more comprehensive overhaul.