The Chartiers Valley Source

Bill Moushey has been a college journalism professor for 21 years the first 14 at Pitt and the last seven at Point Park and during that time hes encountered outstanding students, horrible students and everything in between.

There will always be students who excel and students who struggle, says Moushey, adding that todays best students are just as talented and plentiful as ever. But one trend that has caught his attention is the skills gap between the academic haves and havenots.

The problem is, theres a huge disparity between the good students and the bad students now, he says.

Moushey, who is also an investigative reporter with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, teaches journalism for Point Park. He knows a thing or two about good writers.

Sometimes you scratch your head, he says. There are people who enter journalism programs with very limited writing skills.

Mousheys observations indicate a much larger national trend. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, approximately 30 percent of college students drop out before the start of their sophomore year, and nearly 50 percent never graduate.

While there are myriad reasons for the dropout rate including lack of money failing to reach academic standards is another common reason, prompting the question: Are todays high school students adequately prepared for college?

IN THE HIGH SCHOOL
While there is no fool-proof way to determine whether students are, in fact, ready for college (and why the unprepared are so unprepared), a students school district is a huge factor notes Paul- James Cukanna, the Associate Provost for Enrollment Management at Duquesne University.

Cukanna explains that the seeds of success or failure reside in the school district. Some high schools are more demanding than others, which is why we look at standardized test scores [in addition to high school grade point average], he says.

However, modern technology has helped to narrow the gap between poor districts and affluent districts. For example, students in lessaffluent districts now have greater access to college preparatory tools.

Bob Adkins, the Director of Admissions at Washington and Jefferson College, explains that the internet has given more students from poor districts the chance to prepare for college than in years past.

Students from any district can go online and research colleges, tour campuses and practice test-taking skills. The biggest difference is that now, everybody is going through the same preparations, Adkins says. With mass marketing and electronic access, everyone has the same access to preparations. High schools are doing a lot more to help, even the lower end high schools.

The majority of schools in this area devote substantial time, funds and resources to preparing students for college.

The college preparatory program at Chartiers Valley, for example, is quite extensive.

Stephen DePace, a guidance counselor at Chartiers Valley High School, observes that a step-by-step college exploration process known as the FLEX (Future Life Experiences) Program is a required part of the districts curriculum. The program helps determine a students interests and corresponding potential careers, and it helps educate students on the post-secondary education needed to work in those fields.

The district then facilitates job-shadowing opportunities for its students, which further educates them on potential careers. One of the biggest things is shadowing, Cukanna says. Its really important. Sometimes someone thinks they want to be a physicians assistant but they have never actually shadowed in a clinical setting. We demand it of many applicants.

Beyond career exploration, Chartiers Valley also provides tools for researching potential colleges, and offers video presentations which explain the college application process and offers guidance on taking standardized tests.

As colleges continue raising their admissions standards, we continue revising our college preparation process to make it more conducive and help make the students more prepared, says DePace.

Students are taking the college preparations process more seriously. Colleges are raising the bar, and we are communicating that to our students, which is encouraging them to comply with our program.

THE COLLEGES
Unprepared students slip through the screening process at every college.

The battle facing admissions specialists is keeping their numbers as low as possible. Colleges devote millions of dollars sifting out the applications of students they believe will not be a fit.

Admission officers arrive at these decisions by taking a broad view of each applicants profile and scrutinizing every aspect of his or her academic makeup. We take a very holistic approach, says W&Js Adkins. We look at the whole picture. Is this person, overall, prepared?

That means evaluating grade point average, standardized test scores, writing abilities and extra curricular activities. If a student lags in one of those areas but excels in another, he or she may still gain acceptance at many institutions. This is important in weighing the SAT scores against grade point average, for example. For the most part we get wonderful applicants, but if we do get applications that are under-prepared, its because they havent been academically disciplined, says Duquesnes Cukanna.

Extra-curricular activities complement but do not replace academic performance, he says. Ill have people say, My daughter did all of these activities, but she got all Cs and they dont understand why she wasnt accepted. The extra-curricular activities have to complement the academics. The academic performance is most important.

One significant problem Cukanna notices is a substantial number of high school students who are enrolled in accelerated academic programs but arent really cut out for high-level work. We see students enrolled in high school curricula that they shouldnt be, and then they are not competitive in those curricula, he said I dont know what happens.

Im not sure if they feel pressure, but we see students who are engaged in this advanced curricula but havent been competitive in three years.

Cukanna says it is much better for a student to excel at a slightly lower curriculum level than to struggle with a course load that is too advanced.

We have people say, I got all Cs, but look at the advanced classes I was taking. But, from an admissions perspective, we expect students to be competitive within the curriculum in which they were enrolled. Your curriculum is not an excuse.