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Many in college lack basic skills
Houston Chronicle ^ | 5/24/10 | Jeanine Kever

Posted on 05/25/2010 5:22:14 AM PDT by reaganrevolutionin2010

It has been the dirty little secret of higher education for decades: Tens of thousands of college students can't do the work.

Developmental education — reteaching basic skills in reading, writing and math — is a $200 million-a-year problem in Texas, funded by taxpayers, colleges and the students themselves. Private groups also spend millions of dollars on the issue.

But relatively few students who need the classes go on to earn a degree, raising questions about whether money spent on developmental education is a wise investment.

“It's all about efficiency,” said Jim Pinkard, a program director at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “What are we sending all these kids to college for?”

The statistics also affect the state's work force, sparking concerns about our economic future.

(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: academia; education; homeschooling; learning; teaching
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Homeschool kids will crush these kids when it comes to entering the job market.
1 posted on 05/25/2010 5:22:15 AM PDT by reaganrevolutionin2010
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010

>>It has been the dirty little secret of higher education for decades: Tens of thousands of college students can’t do the work.<<

I don’t to whom it has been a secret. It has been evident to anyone in the work force at any level of management in any industry that requires mental and communications skills.


2 posted on 05/25/2010 5:24:21 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (The frog who accepts a ride from a scorpion should expect a sting and the phrase "it is my nature.")
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010

“Many in college lack basic skills”

Understatement of the year! High school graduates as a whole are dumbed down more each year. There are exceptions though. A smart, driven kid will have no problem excelling in today’s world.


3 posted on 05/25/2010 5:25:31 AM PDT by caver (Obama: Home of the Whopper)
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To: freedumb2003; reaganrevolutionin2010
I don't know to whom...

</post before 9:00 AM>

4 posted on 05/25/2010 5:25:42 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (The frog who accepts a ride from a scorpion should expect a sting and the phrase "it is my nature.")
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To: freedumb2003

Right. One only has to look at the resumes of college graduates to see the high percentage that are incapable of putting together gramatically correct, logical sentences.


5 posted on 05/25/2010 5:26:45 AM PDT by reaganrevolutionin2010
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010

“Many in college lack basic skills”

I work at a university. It is IMPOSSIBLE to overstate this fact.


6 posted on 05/25/2010 5:27:31 AM PDT by SMARTY ("What luck for leaders that men do not think". A. Hitler)
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010

College is the new high school. The push for everyone to have a college degree has dumbed down college and reduced the value of a degree. When I was coming up college was, in general, only for the best students. Now we expect our ‘C’ students to go onto higher education. I’m strongly in favor of making college more rigorous and shoveling people who don’t need a college degree to be successful in their chosen vocation to vocational schools and community colleges.


7 posted on 05/25/2010 5:27:33 AM PDT by DemonDeac
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010
Many in college lack basic skills

That's nothing! Many so-called 'journalists' lack basic skills, but that doesn't keep them from trying to tell us how to run our lives.

8 posted on 05/25/2010 5:28:04 AM PDT by whd23
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010
I believe it. O'Reilly had a poll (not sure who ran it) that showed fully 73% of high school grads couldn't name who the US fought in World War II. Amazing.

I suspect, however, that 100% of that 73% could tell you instantly who got kicked off The Survivor Island last week.

9 posted on 05/25/2010 5:29:14 AM PDT by Puppage (You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it)
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To: freedumb2003

And obvious to anyone entering college. The remedial math, English, and writing classes have more students in them than any others.


10 posted on 05/25/2010 5:29:21 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (The US will not die with a whimper. It will die with thundering applause from the left.)
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010

Back in the mid 90’s after I retired from the Navy, I took a number of business and accounting courses at the local college. One required course was Business Math 101. The instructor spent the first half of the course conducting basic arithmetic lessons because 2/3rds of the class was incapable of adding and subtracting, could not figure percentages, or even do the most fundamental checkbook balancing even with a calculator. It was deeply frustrating to the few of us who really were ready for some of the advanced stuff, had paid for exactly that, and were stuck doing 3rd and 4th grade arithmetic problems for homework.


11 posted on 05/25/2010 5:30:42 AM PDT by Bean Counter (Will the last American to leave California please bring the flag??)
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To: caver
A smart, driven kid will have no problem excelling in today’s world.

Except for the fact that Uncle Sugar has already mortgaged his future, along with that of his next few generations of descendants. I bet a lot of them are going to be demoralized very quickly when they realize they are the small percentage of suckers still pulling the wagon that the rest of the freeloading world is riding in.

12 posted on 05/25/2010 5:30:59 AM PDT by thecabal (Destroy Progressivism)
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010

It’s long been a fact that even those admitted to the Ivy leagues need remedial reading and math.


13 posted on 05/25/2010 5:32:05 AM PDT by Carley (WE CAN SEE NOVEMBER FROM OUR HOUSE)
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010

High schools have almost completely ceased functioning in many places, except as detention facilities or teenage daycare.

We should encourage kids to drop out of high school if they don’t want to be there, so they won’t interfer with the kids who want to learn. I was just thinking about my neighbor growing up in Queens. He had an eigth grade education, landed on Normandy on D-Day + 2, engaged Tiger Tanks with direct artillery fire during the Bulge, worked as a driver for the Water Department and raised a family and was one helluva shade tree mechanic. What possible good would high school have done him?


14 posted on 05/25/2010 5:32:45 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (The naked casuistry of the high priests of Warmism would make a Jesuit blush.)
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To: Bean Counter

Are you smarter than a fifth grader? Not if you graduated from an American high school after 1990.


15 posted on 05/25/2010 5:34:05 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (The naked casuistry of the high priests of Warmism would make a Jesuit blush.)
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010

“Throw more money at it, that will solve the problem!” [snort]


16 posted on 05/25/2010 5:34:48 AM PDT by swatbuznik
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To: thecabal

You are right.


17 posted on 05/25/2010 5:41:01 AM PDT by caver (Obama: Home of the Whopper)
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To: reaganrevolutionin2010
No secret. My wife works in education. "No child left behind" really means "even the incompetent and unable pass." Everyone pushes them through the system, trying to force an education on students who are often unwilling, even hostile towards the staff. Many parents are uninvolved, until their attitude-filled lazy child fails something, then it is the teacher's fault. Never their precious, spoiled child who has never failed at anything before ('cause this wimpy society does everything to build their self esteem even when they don't earn it)...and it is never the fault of the parent who couldn't even tell you the names of the classes their kid is skipping.

Part of my job is evaluating potential hires, reading resume submissions and interviewing. Note, this is for positions that require a college degree in an extremely technical field. (undergrad and some graduate degrees) You wouldn't believe some of the things I've read and heard. Two quick examples: simple grammar mistakes on resumes that scream "I'm inattentive to detail!" or "I don't know how to communicate effectively." -- not even interviewed. Or the interview where they guy proudly proclaimed yes, he had written that much computer code - all in one night, the night before the project was due. Really? You're telling me you procrastinate, and then turn in shoddy work? No interviewed further.

We are currently evaluating a half dozen people for an entry level position. The leading contender? A home schooled guy who went on to excel in college. We have a meeting to discuss the position later this AM, he'll probably be getting a phone call this afternoon.

18 posted on 05/25/2010 5:41:14 AM PDT by ThunderSleeps (obama out now! I'll keep my money, my guns, and my freedom - you can keep the change.)
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To: SMARTY

I’ve worked for over thirty five years in post secondary education and the students of today are like talking vegetables. Honestly the only thing I’ll miss about teaching when I retire is the front row of legs.


19 posted on 05/25/2010 5:41:51 AM PDT by Leg Olam
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To: ThunderSleeps
"The leading contender? A home schooled guy"

DING!DING!DING!DING!DING!

:-)

20 posted on 05/25/2010 5:55:11 AM PDT by reaganrevolutionin2010
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