"Walking Rope Bridge" by chumlee10 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

It may come as little surprise to us at SCCC that a 2017 article from The Education Digest delivers the cold, hard fact that high school students are increasingly underprepared for college and/or careers.

They found that one of the factors for this deficiency is high school counselors' emphasis on the importance of the number of credits taken over quality of courses taken and performance in courses that can help prepare students for their post-high school lives. Ultimately, the misdirected focus "treats graduation as the end goal rather than the starting point for future success, whatever path students choose." For example, according to The Princeton Review, college readiness is indicated by yearly successful completion of five academic subjects a year in English, math, social studies, science and a foreign language, along with some electives for balance. Redirecting this misguided advice will take systematic change.

Although Brookins-Santelsis suggests that high school leaders are positioned to make structural and cultural changes that can positively impact student readiness, we as college faculty have the ability to help bridge the gap more quickly.

Acknowledging the factors that underpin the challenges students are facing, primarily race and socio-economic status, is the first and perhaps most critical step toward the goal. Historically, racially minoritized students and students who are financially disadvantaged are at a greater risk of academic failure. Brookins-Santelises found that 82% of white graduates had a 2.5 GPA or higher in their academic courses while only 51% of black graduates and 63% of Latinx graduates could boast the same and that students from low socioeconomic backgrounds were 14% less likely to complete their college-prep sequence than their more financially advantaged classmates. This factor alone cannot account for the 92% of high school graduates who fail to complete a full college- and career-prep course of study, but it can help us to identify the institutional failures so that they can be corrected.

Change needs to happen even before the semester starts, by adjusting—not lowering—our expectations. Before I started teaching, I had an ideal student in mind, one that comes to class early with already purchased texts, a notebook, pen, highlighter and a yearning for the knowledge I was going to pour into their open minds. That student was well rested, well fed and well prepared by their high school teachers to succeed in my course.

Then... reality. Some of my students were tired, overworked, hungry (not the "I just skipped breakfast" type of hunger, but the "I don't have money for food" type of hunger); some forced to go to college; some juggling childcare, work and school with no emotional, physical or financial support; and others who just plain didn't know what else to do with their lives so they landed in community college. No matter the reason for being there or circumstances, there they are—and meeting students where they are is the first step in not only gaining their trust but setting them up for success.

After you've all introduced yourselves and engaged in discussion about course requirements and expectations, a benchmark assessment within the first week or so of class can guide the rest of the semester. For me, an English teacher, I start with a fun benchmark writing assignment. I ask them to tell me what makes a great leader. I give them a sufficient amount of time and the simple instructions to sum it up in one sentence and then elaborate on each of the characteristics they've listed in the sentence.

Essentially, I'm asking them to write and explicate a thesis statement. Some know exactly what I'm asking for and others struggle with the concept, but I find that it's important to give a prompt that is easily answerable regardless of academic ability. I could ask anyone that question and, although their answers might differ greatly depending on education and experience, they could all give an answer.

I let students know that this is not a graded assignment and that I'm trying to find out what they already know so I don't bore them with things they've obviously mastered. Evaluating these writing assignments informs my semester planning. I like to provide as much feedback to them as often as possible, so I use this assignment as a way to set goals for each individual student. On their paper I write things like "This semester let's really work on paragraph organization and conclusions." In past semesters when I've done this exercise with first-year students, I was often surprised by the things they did not learn in high school.

Sure, high school can't teach everything a student will need to know about writing and, even if they did, not all students would leave with those skills. But, is it unreasonable for a college instructor to assume an incoming first-year student regardless of age knows how to write a thesis? Structure a paragraph? Conclude an essay?

Well, this year, I am fortunate to be seeing things from a different perspective. When a local high school found themselves without an English teacher at the very last second, I was able to step in to help them out and what a great experience for a college professor to have! I feel like a spy sent in to understand what goes on in a high school so that I can report back to my comrades at SCCC (and other colleges where I teach) in an effort to help us reimagine our goals for our students.

Whether students come to us underprepared, perfectly prepared or overprepared, it is our responsibility to meet them where they are and help them take the necessary steps to cross that bridge to wherever they're heading next.