A number of articles were recently published about the decline in college completion rates in the U.S. just after the College Board released its College Completion Agenda. Here are some highlights:
- New York Times, “Once a Leader, U.S. Lags in College Degrees” — The U.S. used to rank highest in the number of college graduates between the ages of 25 to 34. Now the U.S. ranks twelfth. Last year, President Obama launched the American Graduation Initiative, which aims to restore America’s leading position by adding five million more college graduates by the year 2020. The current world leader in educational attainment is Canada; in 2007 56% of Canadians had earned at least associate degrees, compared with 40% in the U.S.
- NPR, “U.S. Losing Ground in College Graduation Race” — This article explains that one of the causes for the drop in college completion is the lack of K-12 preparation for college. Students are having a more difficult time transitioning to rigorous college-level studies than they have in the past; more than a quarter of new college students require remedial instruction in basic skills before taking on a regular college course load. This is particularly true in community colleges. Students who don’t get their basics covered end up taking courses that are exceedingly difficult; they don’t perform well, causing them to lose hope, throw in the towel, and stop enrolling. Gaston Caperton, College Board president offers a few suggestions that “could help repair the education pipeline, including expanding pre-school, making K-12 education more rigorous, raising the quality of teachers and making colleges more accessible and affordable.”
For more information see the College Board’s complete College Completion Agenda or the articles found in The Chronicle for Higher Education (”A National Look at College Completion“) or Inside Higher Ed (”Completion State by State“).
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Read the full article: College Admissions News: College Board Releases Completion Rates
