US Colleges Could See Increase in Students Unprepared for School
2022-08-21
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1American colleges could see an increase in students unprepared for the demands of college-level work, education experts say.
2Unprepared students have a higher risk of dropping out - an action that hurts everything from a person's long-term earnings to the health of the country's workforce.
3Across the U.S., there are many students like Angel Hope.
4Hope graduated near the top of his high school class.
5But on a test - a University of Wisconsin exam that measures what new students learned in high school - all he could do was guess.
6It was like all the problems caused by the pandemic were catching up to him at once.
7Hundreds of thousands of recent graduates are going to college this autumn after spending more than half their high school years dealing with the pandemic.
8These students experienced a move to online learning, the difficulties of U.S. teacher shortages, and large changes to their home lives.
9Many students are believed to be far behind in learning.
10Allison Wagner is head of All-In Milwaukee - a program that provides financial aid and other assistance to poor students, including Hope.
11Wagner saw many students work part-time jobs in their last year of high school.
12She saw more students than ever who did not take math or science classes because of teacher shortages.
13"There is no way they are going to be academically prepared for ... college," she said.
14Her group is spending more money to help students with summer classes in math or science.
15Still, she feels the setbacks will force some students to take more than four years to graduate or, worse, drop out.
16Researchers say that online learning was difficult for students.
17For younger students, there is still hope that America's schools can close learning gaps.
18But for those who graduated in the last two years, experts fear many will struggle.
19Colleges from New Jersey to California have been expanding "bridge" programs.
20These programs provide summer classes, often for students from poor families or those who are the first in their families to attend college.
21In Hanceville, Alabama, Wallace State Community College this year used state money to create its first summer bridge program.
22Students can take three weeks of lessons in math and English in order to avoid remedial classes.
23Remedial classes are for students who need special help to improve in a subject.
24The school hoped to bring in up to 140 students, but just 10 signed up.
25Other states have used federal pandemic money to help colleges build summer programs.
26Kentucky, for example, gave colleges $3.5 million for the effort this year.
27Amanda Ellis is a vice president of Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education.
28"We need these people to be our future workforce, and we need them to be successful," she said.
29Months after struggling with his math test, Hope went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for six weeks of classes in a summer bridge program.
30He took a math class that covered what he missed in high school.
31He signed up to take calculus in the autumn.
32Hope also brought back study skills that he stopped using in high school.
33He started studying at the library.
34He rediscovered what it is like to enjoy school.
35Most importantly, he says the experience changed his way of thinking.
36Now he feels like he is at school to learn, not just to get by.
37"After this, I definitely feel prepared for college," he said. "If I didn't have this, I would be in a very bad place."
38I'm John Russell.
1American colleges could see an increase in students unprepared for the demands of college-level work, education experts say. 2Unprepared students have a higher risk of dropping out - an action that hurts everything from a person's long-term earnings to the health of the country's workforce. 3High schools and the pandemic 4Across the U.S., there are many students like Angel Hope. 5Hope graduated near the top of his high school class. But on a test - a University of Wisconsin exam that measures what new students learned in high school - all he could do was guess. It was like all the problems caused by the pandemic were catching up to him at once. 6Hundreds of thousands of recent graduates are going to college this autumn after spending more than half their high school years dealing with the pandemic. These students experienced a move to online learning, the difficulties of U.S. teacher shortages, and large changes to their home lives. 7Many students are believed to be far behind in learning. 8Allison Wagner is head of All-In Milwaukee - a program that provides financial aid and other assistance to poor students, including Hope. 9Wagner saw many students work part-time jobs in their last year of high school. She saw more students than ever who did not take math or science classes because of teacher shortages. "There is no way they are going to be academically prepared for ... college," she said. 10Her group is spending more money to help students with summer classes in math or science. Still, she feels the setbacks will force some students to take more than four years to graduate or, worse, drop out. 11Bridge programs 12Researchers say that online learning was difficult for students. For younger students, there is still hope that America's schools can close learning gaps. But for those who graduated in the last two years, experts fear many will struggle. 13Colleges from New Jersey to California have been expanding "bridge" programs. These programs provide summer classes, often for students from poor families or those who are the first in their families to attend college. 14In Hanceville, Alabama, Wallace State Community College this year used state money to create its first summer bridge program. Students can take three weeks of lessons in math and English in order to avoid remedial classes. Remedial classes are for students who need special help to improve in a subject. The school hoped to bring in up to 140 students, but just 10 signed up. 15Other states have used federal pandemic money to help colleges build summer programs. Kentucky, for example, gave colleges $3.5 million for the effort this year. 16Amanda Ellis is a vice president of Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education. "We need these people to be our future workforce, and we need them to be successful," she said. 17Months after struggling with his math test, Hope went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for six weeks of classes in a summer bridge program. He took a math class that covered what he missed in high school. He signed up to take calculus in the autumn. 18Hope also brought back study skills that he stopped using in high school. He started studying at the library. He rediscovered what it is like to enjoy school. 19Most importantly, he says the experience changed his way of thinking. Now he feels like he is at school to learn, not just to get by. 20"After this, I definitely feel prepared for college," he said. "If I didn't have this, I would be in a very bad place." 21I'm John Russell. 22Collin Binkley reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. 23____________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25graduate -- v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university 26guess - v. to form an opinion or give an answer about something when you do not know much or anything about it 27academically - adv. of or relating to schools and education 28setback -- n. a problem that makes progress more difficult or success less likely 29calculus - n. an advanced branch of mathematics that deals mostly with rates of change and with finding lengths, areas, and volumes 30___________________________________________________________________ 31Has the COVID-19 Pandemic caused learning setbacks in your country? We want to hear from you. 32We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 33Write your comment in the box. 34Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 35Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 36Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.