As we approach finals week, here’s an article that might be controversial on our campus. The article from the Higher Education news site Inside Higher Ed, “Low Bar, High Failure” discusses a new study from the National Center on Education. This study looked at a representative sample of community colleges. The Inside Higher Ed article summarized the study’s findings:
Community colleges set a low bar for students during their first year of enrollment, with lax academic standards in literacy and mathematics, according to a new study from the National Center on Education and the Economy. And many students fail to meet even those minimal expectations.
I wonder how MVCC compares to the schools that participated, and I wonder how many of our students think we have low standards?
This study focused on first-year students at community colleges. Many (not all) students who attend community colleges are not as well prepared as students going to other colleges. Does this study imply that lower firest-year standards at community colleges provide a “catch up” period for students?
This is a study that is worth pondering for faculty, students, and administrators.