2008 Woodie Awards
New state standards aim to prepare students for college
Maggie Kiely
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: News
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopted new College-Readiness Standards Jan. 24 as a way of better preparing students for their college careers.
According to a College-Readiness Standards information sheet provided by the coordinating board, the standards "define what students should know and be able to accomplish in order to succeed in entry-level courses."
To develop the standards, the THECB put together teams of teachers and faculty who are experts on knowledge of the subject matter and experiences in public high schools and colleges.
New standards were set in English/language arts, science, social sciences, mathematics and cross-disciplinary areas. However, the new standards do not affect high school graduation requirements.
Elizabeth Teagan, director of the Texas Tech Advising Center, said until now, high schools have not focused on making a student college-ready.
"In the past, the job of high schools was seen by some to prepare students to graduate from high school," Teagan said. "Anything that communicates that the job of a high school is to prepare students for college is beneficial."
Teagan said many students enter college with the academic skills necessary, but not the self-management skills required to be successful, and she hopes the standards will change that.
"It's being able to take new information and see it in new ways," she said. "How do people manage information and knowledge? Those are key skills that high school graduates should have, and we're hoping the public schools will help develop that foundation."
Joshua Barron, associate director of the Advising Center at Tech, said he believes some freshmen do not have the skills necessary to make it through college without dropping out.
"There are lots of reasons that cause someone to be called away," Barron said, "but generally if you are going to undertake something that is going to be four or five years in the process and is a significant financial and time commitment, do you really begin to build a tower and walk away before getting a roof on it?"
According to a College-Readiness Standards information sheet provided by the coordinating board, the standards "define what students should know and be able to accomplish in order to succeed in entry-level courses."
To develop the standards, the THECB put together teams of teachers and faculty who are experts on knowledge of the subject matter and experiences in public high schools and colleges.
New standards were set in English/language arts, science, social sciences, mathematics and cross-disciplinary areas. However, the new standards do not affect high school graduation requirements.
Elizabeth Teagan, director of the Texas Tech Advising Center, said until now, high schools have not focused on making a student college-ready.
"In the past, the job of high schools was seen by some to prepare students to graduate from high school," Teagan said. "Anything that communicates that the job of a high school is to prepare students for college is beneficial."
Teagan said many students enter college with the academic skills necessary, but not the self-management skills required to be successful, and she hopes the standards will change that.
"It's being able to take new information and see it in new ways," she said. "How do people manage information and knowledge? Those are key skills that high school graduates should have, and we're hoping the public schools will help develop that foundation."
Joshua Barron, associate director of the Advising Center at Tech, said he believes some freshmen do not have the skills necessary to make it through college without dropping out.
"There are lots of reasons that cause someone to be called away," Barron said, "but generally if you are going to undertake something that is going to be four or five years in the process and is a significant financial and time commitment, do you really begin to build a tower and walk away before getting a roof on it?"
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