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Graduates unprepared for college academics
THE GAZETTE ^ | May 21, 2007 | BRIAN NEWSOME

Posted on 05/23/2007 2:59:55 PM PDT by george76

Remedial classes await.

Thousands of Colorado high schoolers are graduating this month with plans to go to college in the fall.

Hundreds of them will be academically unprepared when they get there.

Those students will take — and pay for — remedial classes that don’t count toward a degree.

Educators say the need for remedial work is fueled largely by a lack of communication between high schools and colleges about what’s important to know. They also say high school students need to pay closer attention to class selection and grades, especially in the senior year when many coast toward graduation day. And, some say, high school should be more rigorous.

About 30 percent of recent high school graduates who went to Colorado’s public colleges last year were assigned to remedial courses in at least one subject, the report said. The number rose to about 56 percent at two-year colleges.

Nearly 61 percent of students were assigned to remedial classes at Pikes Peak Community College.

Even in the Pikes Peak region’s top-performing high schools, as many as 20 to 30 percent of graduates needed remedial help in college.

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


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; US: Colorado
KEYWORDS: classes; college; highschool; highschoolers; illiteracy; letarekidswalk; publicschools; publikskoolz; remedial; remedialclasses; school; schools
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To: rockprof
It is a good fight, thanks, but 90-95% of college professors are indeed liberal wingnuts.
141 posted on 05/26/2007 10:25:49 AM PDT by JasonC
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To: Principled
That makes sense - and I didn’t know this is round two with the submissions. I guess schools are in a catch-22 with AP’s. Because AP attendance is listed as a positive for the school, they tend to push more and more kids into those classes, but if the kids aren’t ready, then the scores are low.
142 posted on 05/26/2007 10:25:50 AM PDT by SoftballMominVA (argumentum a silentio)
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To: RKBA Democrat; Amelia
As far as special education students go, you may or may not know that some of that cost is somewhat hidden to the public, in that the student is sent to a private center at the public's expense, not to a center-based school. Amelia posted an interesting article from Georgia about a student who cost over $400k a year to educate - yeah, you read that right $400,000 a year and that the true cost of an average student was around 5k a year.

I'm not positive that comparing public schools to Catholic schools is an equitable measurement since Catholic schools are funded by donations of the local and national members. Not to mention, Catholic schools are not required by law to offer specialized programs to all students, regardless of disability up until the age of 22.

Interesting though that your example of $4-6k a year matches the article that stated it costs about $5 to educate an average student.

143 posted on 05/26/2007 10:32:15 AM PDT by SoftballMominVA (argumentum a silentio)
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To: SoftballMominVA
Because AP attendance is listed as a positive for the school, they tend to push more and more kids into those classes, but if the kids aren’t ready, then the scores are low.

And the cycle continually repeats.

144 posted on 05/26/2007 10:33:32 AM PDT by Principled
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To: jude24
The total cost to educate an average special-education student is almost twice the cost of a regular student.

There are wide differences in how much special ed students cost to educate. I work with the learning disabled. The cost to the district for these 12 kids is 1 teacher and 1 assistant and about $400 or so in materials. Definitely higher than the average student, but not exorbitant. However, our county pays for residental services for one particular violent autistic child to the tune of $250k a year. Big difference.

145 posted on 05/26/2007 10:35:01 AM PDT by SoftballMominVA (argumentum a silentio)
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To: george76

Todays students are NOT taught to learn. They are taught only to pass stupid government mandated test.


146 posted on 05/26/2007 10:37:55 AM PDT by CHEE (Mad as hell.)
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To: RKBA Democrat
Here is the link to that article

http://savannahnow.com/node/205697

I just checked it, so I know it's still a live link.

147 posted on 05/26/2007 10:37:58 AM PDT by SoftballMominVA (argumentum a silentio)
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To: wintertime; jude24
The following posting guidelines are on FR's homepage:

Please enjoy our forum, but also please remember to use common courtesy when posting and refrain from posting personal attacks, profanity, vulgarity, threats, racial or religious bigotry, or any other materials offensive or otherwise inappropriate for a conservative family audience.

I see nothing about posting etiquette of *Don't post to me again*.

If one posts here, they can be expected to be answered. As long as the the other poster avoids stalking from thread to thread, or continual personal attacks, I don't see any reason he/she can't post to another's comments.

I have seen the mods support a FReepers request to not post to someone but that has only been in the afore mentioned circumstances, not because of a dislike of someone's "rhetoric".

Sometimes there is something in someone's post that I wish to comment on that hasn't come up before and the only way to address it so people can see the original comment is to respond to the original post. It has nothing to do with the poster but everything with the point I'm trying to get across.

In cases where I no longer wish to have someone respond to me, I simply don't read the posts to me from them. A simple solution and much easier on the blood pressure.

148 posted on 05/26/2007 12:24:51 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: jude24
Special education is labor-intensive.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jude,

Americans are **not** stupid.

How much per pupil is freely available in my state. It is even broken down by special vs. normal education.

It is easy to compare the government cost to educate a government **normal** child to a privately schooled **normal** child. It costs **more** than twice the cost to educate a government child.

Also, not included in the cost per child are the pension and other retirement benefits that teachers receive because the minute they retire they are classified as merely a former state employee. Also, not included in the cost per government child are the capital cost that private schools pay out of their tuition ( which is half the amount). So the *true** cost of educating a **normal** child in the government system is **far** higher than in the private system.

149 posted on 05/26/2007 2:01:03 PM PDT by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: metmom
Thank you metmom.
150 posted on 05/26/2007 2:02:20 PM PDT by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: RKBA Democrat

Thank you to you too, RKBA Democrat.


151 posted on 05/26/2007 2:03:53 PM PDT by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: wintertime
It is easy to compare the government cost to educate a government **normal** child to a privately schooled **normal** child.

Problem is, very few private educations reflect the actual cost of educating their students. I know a Chemistry teacher at a small Christian school. She's paid under $20k/year. If she wasn't approaching it as a ministry (and if her husband wasn't a highly-paid research scientist), those numbers would not be sustainable - and even there, tuition is $4500/year.

Private schools are either incredibly expensive (more than a college education) or subsidized by a religious organization that pays virtually nothing.

(And, by the way... I liked this post... it was about the issues.)

152 posted on 05/26/2007 2:16:37 PM PDT by jude24 (Seen in Beijing: "Shangri-La is in you mind, but your Buffalo is not.")
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To: jude24
If she wasn’t approaching it as a ministry

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This is what the free market produces. Too bad.

It does **not** matter what a private school teacher’s motivation or circumstances are. She is **willing** to provide her services for $20,000 a year. That is the **Free **Market. No one is holding a gun to her head.

Were you aware that volunteers ran the Catholic schools for more than a century and were paid nearly nothing? They were called nuns. These volunteers were responding to the free market. They were willing to give their labor away for almost no salary.

Are you aware that homeschooling parents educate their children for no pay at all, or even at a negative wage since they often give up outside employment? They see it as a calling as well. They are responding to the free market as well.

The free market also permits anyone to subsidize any charity. That includes private schools. The result is that private schools cost parents far less than government schools, and cost the taxpayer nothing. No private school is going to send an armed sheriff to a citizen’s door to put their home up for auction for failure to support their private school.

153 posted on 05/26/2007 2:48:03 PM PDT by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: jude24
(And, by the way... I liked this post... it was about the issues.)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

All my posts are about the issues. I invite you to re-read them.

154 posted on 05/26/2007 2:49:09 PM PDT by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: george76
Article from Fort Worth WFAA.Com: FW students protest TAKS decision:

LET ARE KIDS WALK

Parents protest decision to not allow students who failed state graduation test to participate in commencement ceremonies.

-PJ

155 posted on 05/26/2007 3:02:09 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too (It's still not safe to vote Democrat.)
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To: Political Junkie Too

These parents are the problem.

They want social promotions for the kids even if they and their kids can not read, write, nor do basic math.

Not a great future for their kids nor for America.


156 posted on 05/26/2007 3:46:20 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: Political Junkie Too

OMG, too funny. Sad too.


157 posted on 05/26/2007 5:53:11 PM PDT by tioga (Fred Thompson for President.)
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To: george76

we’re slipping and sliding...


158 posted on 05/26/2007 6:12:04 PM PDT by zwerni (it's the end of the world as we know it...)
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To: george76

so exactly how much are we paying our teachers and administrators to not know what the students in school need to know?


159 posted on 05/26/2007 6:15:44 PM PDT by zwerni (it's the end of the world as we know it...)
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To: Political Junkie Too

Sign says let ARF kids walk


160 posted on 05/26/2007 6:22:49 PM PDT by Exton1
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