Rigorous Preparation and Foresight Ease the Transition From High School to College

Carol Crowe, a marketing major from Lansing Community College, has some serious advice for high school students preparing for college or entry into the workforce. “High school students should definitely take their classes more seriously. I wish I would have. I took stupid classes just to get credit. My mom wanted me to take physics, but I thought it was just useless knowledge.” (See “Sage Advice from Beyond the High School Years” on page 6.)

Carol is not alone in her assessment of her high school experience. According to a 2005 EPIC-MRA poll * of 1,126 adults 18 to 30 years old, less than half of young adults in Michigan feel they applied themselves fully in high school.

Studies show that the quality of courses completed in high school is a greater predictor of college success than test scores, class rank, or grade point average. Less rigorous high school classes also result in lower scores on college readiness assessments such as the ACT® and SAT®. These scores also greatly influence the number and amount of college scholarships a student receives. The Lieutenant Governor’s Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth, December 2004 report ** defines “college ready” as whether a student has completed high school with the skills and aptitude to enter and succeed in college. According to the report, only 30 percent of Michigan high school graduates take the rigorous courses needed to prepare them for college.

Students not fully prepared for college-level work need to take remedial classes before advancing to college-level classes. In some Michigan community colleges, three of every four entering students are required to take some remedial classes. Remedial classes cost extra money and take extra time. This is vital information when coupled with statistics showing students who take remedial classes are less likely to graduate from college than college ready students. ***

In addition, according to the 2005 Your Child Study IV, Post High School Experience, The First 12 Years* educational attainment and an optimistic outlook on life are linked. Among those who did not continue their education beyond high school, only 37 percent say they were very optimistic about what the next ten years may have in store for them. This rises to 45 percent among those who attended a trade or technical school after high school and to 50 percent among those who attended a two-year community college. The highest rate of optimism, however, belongs to those who attended a four-year school—60 percent say they are very optimistic.

Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, and Direct Credit for Early College Credit

Even before the publication of the Lieutenant Governor’s Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth, the Michigan Department of Education grappled with the question of how to increase the percentage of students successfully transitioning from high school to college. One answer was expanding opportunities for early college achievement through advanced placement, dual enrollment, direct credit, and formal articulation agreements. Through college-level advanced placement (AP) courses, high school students have opportunities to explore topics usually reserved for college level courses. High schools typically require students to apply for and test into AP courses. Through AP exams, students have the opportunity to earn credit at most of the nation’s colleges and universities. Dual enrollment and direct credit involve the student enrolling in the college as well as the high school. Students take college-level classes and receive both high school and college credit. Formal articulation agreements—most often done in Career and Technical Education—involve the alignment of curricula between the high school and college to the extent that some of the competencies acquired in high school can qualify a student for college credit.

There are many school districts and colleges across the state and the nation that provide extensive early college experiences for students. The results are generally positive because early college learning experiences help students:

• Make better use of their senior year.
• Prepare for the academic rigors of college.
• Gain realistic information about the skills they need for college.
• Consider for the fist time the possibility of attending college.
• Choose from a broader set of curricular options.
• Improve motivation through higher expectations.
• Save money and time by earning early college credit.

Middle College High Schools offer opportunities for early preparation for college. Middle College High Schools are community collaborations between school districts, colleges, and parent and business representatives. These institutional collaborations make college affordable, reduce repetition in the curriculum, yield coordinated student services, and often eliminate the need for remediation. Middle College High Schools are typically located on college campuses and have small enrollments of no more than 100 students at any grade level beginning with grade 9. They establish a high school-college collaboration committee that meets regularly to design and implement a five-year academic plan and to provide on-going, sustained, and constructive formative feedback on the plan. Michigan currently has two Middle College High Schools, Washtenaw Technical Middle College (WTMC) and Mott Middle College High School (MMC).

For more information about advanced placement, dual enrollment, and direct credit, contact: David Mills, Michigan Department of Education, (517) 373-4213, milsd@michigan.gov or visit www.michigan.gov/osi. For more information about Middle College High Schools, visit The Middle College National Consortium at www.mcnc.us/. For more information about Advanced Placement courses and testing, contact www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html.

Gary VanKempen is vice-president of Academic Affairs at Lansing Community College and is an Executive on Loan to the Michigan Department of Education assisting with the Michigan High School Initiative. For more information, contact: Office of the Superintendent, Hannah Building, 608 Allegan, Lansing, MI 48933, (517) 335-3692 or vankempeng@michigan.gov.

* Your Child Study IV, Post High-School Experience, The First 12 Years was conducted for the Your Child Coalition by EPIC/MRA, a Lansing-based research firm. Your Child is a coalition of Michigan-based education and family organizations, including the Presidents’ Council, State Universities of Michigan; the Michigan PTSA; the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians; the Michigan Education Association; the Michigan School Public Relations Association; and many others. Visit www.yourchildmichigan.org for more information.

** In June 2004, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm signed Executive Order No. 2004-32 (Appendix A) and announced the formation of the Lieutenant Governor’s Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth, chaired by Lt. Governor John D. Cherry Jr. The executive order charged the commission with identifying strategies to double the number of Michigan residents with degrees and other post-secondary credentials of value within ten years. For more information or to read the full report, The Lt. Governor’s Commission on Higher Education & Economic Growth, December 2004, visit www.cherrycommission.org/. Printed copies of the free report are available in limited supply for $10.00 each plus tax. To order, call Public Sector Consultants, (517) 484-4954.

*** The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences, is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. Visit http://nces.ed.gov/.

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