Most Students Eager to Enter College; Few Are Prepared to Earn Degrees

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- If American high schools can do one thing to help students succeed, it would be to make rigorous, college-ready academics and strong support to excel in more challenging classes the norm in every school. This was the major finding of a new report from the Bridgespan Group, which studied the factors that have the greatest impact on whether students not only attend college, but attain degrees.

The “Reclaiming the American Dream” report aims to provide educators, parents and policymakers with a clear action agenda for ensuring that every student graduates from high school prepared for success in college. The report, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is based on the Bridgespan Group’s analysis of data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS:88, 2000).

Why It Matters

• In the United States today, a high school dropout is four times as likely to be unemployed as a college graduate. He or she is 2.5 times more likely to be arrested.
  
  
• Assuming a high school dropout does find a job, he or she will earn nearly 60 percent less than his or her college-educated counterpart.
  
  
• Dropouts will be half as likely as their college-educated peers to take part in the democratic process by casting a vote, and half as likely as their high-school educated peers to feel in excellent or very good health.
  
  
• Only 50 percent of students who graduate from high school in the top half of their class, have a GPA of 2.7 or higher, and score average or above-average on college entrance exams will earn a bachelor’s degree.

The outlook for low-income students is most distressing, according to the report. Only 60 percent of America’s low-income youth (defined as students eligible for free and reduced-price meals) can expect to graduate from high school. One in three can expect to enroll in college. Only one in seven will earn a bachelor’s degree.

“Education is our most critical tool for increasing economic opportunity and social mobility,” said Susan Colby, Bridgespan Group partner and co-author. “Through this paper we sought to identify the barriers that keep students from earning degrees, and to make recommendations that will help the appropriate actors set priorities and make choices on how to best prepare students for college. All students deserve the opportunity not just to finish high school, but to achieve their aspirations.”

Key Findings

• Preparing students academically is the most effective way to increase the odds that they will earn college degrees. A student who graduates high school having met even a lenient definition of preparedness has an 85 percent chance of entering college and a 50 percent chance of earning a degree. Students who do not have this level of preparedness have only a 14 percent chance of completing college.
  
  
• Information about college and the high school coursework required for admission to college is critical for students who want to earn a degree. Many low-income students expect to go to college, but they do take courses in high school that would enable them to pursue that path.
  
  
• Peer culture is more influential than parental encouragement. The most important thing parents can do for students is to help them visit a college campus. This visit will help students perceive college as a more tangible goal.
  
  
• Supports that address the issue of college affordability are important across the board. Many low-income students lack reliable information about affordability and the financial aid process.

Report Recommendations
The “Reclaiming the American Dream” report suggests that ensuring more students are prepared to succeed in college will require a radical change in culture and coursework offered in today’s high schools.

The report’s recommendations include:

1. Implement a challenging curriculum and align high school exit requirements with college entrance requirements. This goes well beyond labeling a course “advanced.” It includes the appropriate course sequence and content standards. For example, the California public university system defined 15 high school courses required for admissions, including four years of English; at least two years of lab sciences; three years of advanced math; three years of history and social sciences; and two years of foreign language. These courses help prepare students to succeed in college and career.
   
   
2. Match high challenge with high support. Concerns that all students – especially low-performing ones – cannot succeed in challenging courses are misplaced. Research clearly shows that, no matter what students’ skill levels are upon entering high school, their skills grow in more challenging courses. Tutoring for students and professional development for teachers create the conditions for rigorous programs to be successful.
   
   
3. Create college-going cultures in all high schools. Research shows that students are heavily influenced by school culture, particularly by peers’ postsecondary plans. Creating a culture where students have a clear understanding of the relevance of college and are surrounded by high expectations for success is vital to increasing the college graduation rate.
   
   
4. Challenge misperceptions about college affordability. Studies show that many students falsely assume that they can not afford college. Half to three-quarters of low-income students do not apply for aid or loans. Changing this perception and connecting students with financial help greatly improves their chances of entering college and earning a degree.

“Improving graduation and college-readiness rates is an economic and social imperative. We need to work smarter in preparing all students to succeed in college and career,” said Tom Vander Ark, executive director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s education program. “‘Reclaiming the American Dream’ clearly demonstrates which strategies have the greatest impact on ultimate success in college and represent the best investment of time and money.”

The report and executive summary, along with commentary from Vander Ark; Chris Barbic (YES Preparatory Schools); Dr. Michael L. Lomax (United Negro College Fund); Sara Martinez Tucker (Hispanic Scholarship Fund); Christi Martin, Barbara Scroggie Knaggs and Robin Gelinas (Texas Education Agency); and Tony Wagner (Harvard Graduate School of Education) can be found at http://www.bridgespan.org/.

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The Bridgespan Group is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization applying leading-edge management strategies, tools and talent to help other nonprofits and foundations achieve greater social impact. Established in 2000 and incubated at Bain & Company, Bridgespan works to build a better world by strengthening the ability of nonprofit organizations to achieve breakthrough results through three main activities: strategy consulting; knowledge-sharing; and talent-matching, through its Bridgestar initiative.