US Colleges Could See Increase in Students Unprepared for School

American colleges could see an increase in students unprepared for the demands of college-level work, education experts say.

Unprepared students have a higher risk of dropping out – an action that hurts everything from a person's long-term earnings¹ to the health of the country's workforce².

High schools and the pandemic

Across the U.S., there are many students like Angel Hope.

Hope 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 catching³ up to him at once.

Hundreds of thousands of recent graduates are going to college this autumn after spending more than half their high school years dealing⁴ with the pandemic. These students experienced a move to online learning, the difficulties of U.S. teacher shortages⁵, and large changes to their home lives.

Many students are believed to be far behind in learning.

Allison Wagner is head of All-In Milwaukee - a program that provides financial aid and other assistance to poor students, including Hope.

Wagner 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.

Her 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.

Bridge programs

Researchers 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.

Colleges from New Jersey⁷ 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.

In 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.

Other 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.

Amanda Ellis is a vice⁸ 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.

Months 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 calculus⁹ in the autumn.

Hope 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.

Most 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.

"After this, I definitely feel prepared for college," he said. "If I didn't have this, I would be in a very bad place."

Words in This Story

graduate -- v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

guess – v. to form an opinion or give an answer about something when you do not know much or anything about it

academically – adv. of or relating to schools and education

setback⁶ -- n. a problem that makes progress more difficult or success less likely

calculus – n. an advanced branch of mathematics that deals mostly with rates of change and with finding lengths, areas, and volumes

1 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

2 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

3 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

6 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。