States Have Created Barriers to College Success

Posted by on March 28, 2003

[Public Education Network Newsblast]

STATES HAVE CREATED BARRIERS TO COLLEGE SUCCESS

More U.S. high school students plan to go to college than ever before, but many are being set up to fail, according to the findings of six years of research by the Bridge Project at Stanford University. The research provides the first national yardstick that identifies many barriers facing low-income and many ethnic groups in preparing successfully for college. In addition, the research has surveyed high school students and their parents, and identifies significant misunderstandings about what students need to know to succeed in college. According to the research, these barriers and mixed messages can be traced to the wide chasm that currently exists between K-12 and postsecondary education systems. "Our K-12 and college systems currently move in separate orbits," said Michael Kirst, professor at Stanford University. "It’s the students who are left behind. And primarily, it’s the students at broad-access institutions who fare the worst."

<a href="http://www.stanford.edu/group/bridgeproject/">http://www.stanford.edu/group/bridgeproject/</a>