More scary news on the education front:
New data show that fewer than 25% of 2010 graduates who took the ACT college-entrance exam possessed the academic skills necessary to pass entry-level courses, despite modest gains in college-readiness among U.S high-school students in the last few years.
The results raise questions about how well the nation’s high schools are preparing students for college, and show the challenge facing the Obama administration in its effort to raise educational standards. The administration won bipartisan support for its education policies early on, but faces a tough fight in the fall over the rewrite and reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind program.
While elementary schools have shown progress on national achievement exams, high-school results have stayed perniciously low. Some experts say the lack of rigor in high-school courses is partly to blame.
“High schools are the downfall of American school reform,” said Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington. “We haven’t figured out how to improve them on a broad scope and if our kids aren’t dropping out physically, they are dropping out mentally.”
President Barack Obama has said the nation’s long-term prosperity depends on fixing the nation’s high schools and preparing students to compete in a global economy. A recent study found the U.S. ranks only 12th in the percentage of adults aged 25 to 34 who hold college degrees, and Mr. Obama has set a goal of becoming No. 1.
Lost in the 21st Century 
As the employee of a tutoring company who works daily with students preparing for the SAT and ACT exams, this blog is not shocking but incredibly disturbing. Then again it also re-enforces why there is such a need for smaller class size and more individualized education. When education becomes a real priority to our government,( beyond the quibbling over the No Child left Behind) only then can we hope for some change and students who are truly prepared to matriculate.
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