There is a gap between what high schools are teaching students in their core college preparatory courses and what colleges want incoming students to know. There has been ongoing dialogue, from many corners, about this misalignment. ACT has now delineated this gap with the results of its latest National Curriculum Survey.
ACT has been conducting surveys of this nature for roughly 30 years. Data from our research has helped establish the most widely recognized definition of college readiness in the United States.
The study, which surveyed high school and college instructors across the country, suggests that colleges generally want incoming students to have in-depth understanding of a selected number of fundamental skills and knowledge, while high schools tend to provide less in-depth instruction of a broader range of skills and topics.
College instructors take a dim view of the effectiveness of their state's learning standards. Nearly two-thirds (65%), overall, say their state standards prepare students "poorly" or "very poorly" for college-level work in their subject area, whereas most high school teachers believe state standards prepare students "well" or "very well."
The disparity exists across the curriculum:
- In mathematics, high school teachers tend to give advanced content greater importance than do college instructors. College instructors value rigorous understanding of math fundamentals more.
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In science, high school teachers consistently rate knowledge of specific facts and information as more important than an understanding of science process and inquiry skills. College instructors, in contrast, rate these skills in the opposite way.
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In English and writing, college instructors place more importance on basic grammar and usage skills than do high school teachers. College instructors express frustration that incoming students can't write a complete sentence.
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In reading, high school and college instructors tend to agree on the relative importance of specific skills. However, instruction of reading skills diminishes in high school.
This gap between what high schools are teaching and what colleges expect is a serious problem that state policymakers and education leaders must work to close. There are a number of states that have initiated a P–16 approach to address the issue of misalignment. Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan have already taken steps to improve the alignment of their learning standards with college expectations. We strongly support their efforts and hope other states will follow suit.
