What about ability? Not everyone is smart enough to go to college. Encouraging people who fit this definition to go to college is, in my opinion, wrong (cruel, even). It sets them up for failure and feelings of inadequacy, saddles them with debt, and doesn't guarantee that they'll find a job (much less a job that they'll enjoy and do well).
I don't understand what is so wrong with admitting this fact. It would be great if everyone was capable of getting a college education, but wishing this were so won't make it so. I believe that our education system has a duty to help students discover what they're good at --- even if it's not something that's taught at college.
Objective measures of college readiness find large racial gaps (see the articles below), which I don't think can be closed. Policymakers don't want to admit that. The Republican party is the natural home for pessimism/realism on gap closing, but Bush gave us just the opposite -- No Child Left Behind.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2011/0817/ACT-scores-up-more-US-students-ready-for-collegeACT scores up, more US students ready for college
By Amanda Paulson, Staff writer / August 17, 2011
Christian Science Monitor
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The ACT�s college-readiness benchmarks � based on actual grades earned by students � are the minimum scores that indicate a student has a 75 percent chance of earning a C or better, or a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better, in a first-year credit-bearing college course.
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The results also showed a significant race-based achievement gap. Just 4 percent of African-Americans met the benchmarks in all four subjects, compared with 11 percent of Hispanics and American Indians, 15 percent of Pacific Islanders, 31 percent of whites, and 41 percent of Asian-Americans. At least 50 percent of African-American, Hispanic, and American-Indian students didn�t meet any of the four benchmarks.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/n...tes-meet-college-readiness-standard.htmlCollege-Readiness Low Among State Graduates, Data Show
By SHARON OTTERMAN
New York Times
June 14, 2011
Heightening concerns about the value of many of its high school diplomas, the New York State Education Department released new data on Tuesday showing that only 37 percent of students who entered high school in 2006 left four years later adequately prepared for college, with even smaller percentages of minority graduates and those in the largest cities meeting that standard.
In New York City, 21 percent of the students who started high school in 2006 graduated last year with high enough scores on state math and English tests to be deemed ready for higher education or well-paying careers. In Rochester, it was 6 percent; in Yonkers, 14.5 percent.
The new calculations, part of a statewide push to realign standards with college readiness, also underscored a racial achievement gap: 13 percent of black students and 15 percent of Hispanic students statewide were deemed college-ready after four years of high school, compared with 51 percent of white graduates and 56 percent of Asian-Americans.
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