Millennials and remedial learning

September 3rd, 2006 Stewart Posted in Uncategorized |

At 2-Year Colleges, Students Eager but Unready - New York Times

On top of the NYT article above, I have an interesting stat that was shared with me by one of the faculty during my recent SUNY Orange visit. Seven years ago, I’m told, the math department offered two sections of remedial math. This year, they have filled eleven sections. And, although she didn’t have the exact numbers for me, a member of the English department reported that the number of sections of remedial Reading/Comp courses has likewise increased dramatically.

Millennials make up one of the most competitive generations in history. The pressures to compete and succeed have been considerable, but actual achievement has rarely been part of the equation. This competitiveness has always been rewarded during childhood, regardless of outcome — Everyone who plays for the team gets a trophy. Eighty percent of high school grads plan on attending college, and they are assuming that high school has adequately prepared them for college-level courses.

Unfortunately, all the anecdotal evidence seems to be to the contrary — Having a high school diploma is, of itself, no guarantee that a student is prepared for college. A high school diploma used to mean a lot more than it does today. But as long as the federal and state governments continue to force K-12 programs to “teach to the test,” it’s unlikely that the high school diploma will ever mean as much as it once did.