It is a stubborn problem: high school graduates in our state enroll in college and then find they aren’t prepared to handle college-level work. The problem persists despite increases in our graduation rate. While it is positive news that more are graduating, we can’t ignore the issue of what graduates have learned — and what they haven’t — during their high school experience. John Locke Foundation Director of Education Studies, Terry Stoops, touched on the problem during remarks he made yesterday to a JLF gathering in Raleigh.
Stoops also pointed to the efforts that community colleges have to put into remediation programs as evidence of lack of student performance.
“Sixty-five percent, nearly two out of three students, who enroll in a community college directly after graduation have to enroll in one or more remedial course in a North Carolina community college,” Stoops said.
He said that percentage has been increasing for years.
“They’re graduating without very basic skills,” Stoops said. “Even if they don’t go to community college, these are skills that they should possess.”
You can watch his entire speech here.
