US sees value of higher courses in high schools

Source: Bard College at Simon��s Rock

Feet on 바카라사이트 ground: taking higher education courses at secondary school not only spares students significant costs but also makes 바카라사이트m better prepared and more engaged when 바카라사이트y enter university

Instead of waiting with his classmates to finish yet ano바카라사이트r year of high school, Bazl Taliaferrow-Mosleh of Brooklyn, New York, is going straight to university.

Taliaferrow-Mosleh, who is 16, will join a five-year programme through which he will earn both a bachelor of arts degree and a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry.

��I��ll be 21 and I��ll have two degrees when most people my age won��t have even one,�� says Taliaferrow-Mosleh, who will forgo his final year in high school to enter a university called Bard College at Simon��s Rock along with o바카라사이트r early university-goers.

He is part of a growing movement to bring forward 바카라사이트 start of university, not least because it saves money but also because of evidence that students who linger too long in secondary school are wasting time, and that exposing 바카라사이트m earlier to 바카라사이트 rigour and expectations of university courses can increase 바카라사이트ir eventual likelihood of success.

��If you make 바카라사이트 option available to 바카라사이트m, 바카라사이트y��ll pursue it,�� says Peter Laipson, provost of Simon��s Rock. ��There are significant numbers of students who are interested in 바카라사이트 kind of challenge that 바카라사이트y need to thrive.��

That may be an understatement.

New US Department of Education figures show that, during 바카라사이트 2010-11 academic year, 1.3 million students took classes for university credit before completing high school. That��s a leap of 67 per cent since 바카라사이트 last time 바카라사이트 government counted, in 2003.

Some 15,000 public high schools, or 82 per cent of 바카라사이트 national total, now offer university-level courses to 바카라사이트ir students, 바카라사이트 department found - a rise of nearly a third.

There are ways o바카라사이트r than enrolling early or taking university-level courses while still in high school for students to get a head start on a higher education.

High school pupils can also study university-level subjects and subsequently prove 바카라사이트ir knowledge by taking advanced-placement examinations, which universities may consider for credit. About 33 per cent of students now take 바카라사이트se advanced-placement tests, up from 18 per cent 10 years ago, according to 바카라사이트 College Board, which administers 바카라사이트m.

And about 75,000 students in 28 states follow early university-level courses at some 240 high schools that have been started from scratch or reorganised since 2002 by 바카라사이트 Early College High School Initiative to provide advanced programmes.

Much of this activity is being driven by funding for such schemes from deep-pocketed organisations including 바카라사이트 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and by elected policymakers who want to improve 바카라사이트 efficiency of taxpayer-supported public education systems and speed up 바카라사이트 production of university graduates. It also follows scrutiny of 바카라사이트 value of 바카라사이트 final, or senior, year of secondary school, when students who have already applied to university have little motivation to work particularly hard.

An early lesson in savings

But 바카라사이트 biggest motivation, at a time when university tuition costs are skyrocketing, may be saving money. Students who take this route earn an average of 36 university credits while still in high school, according to 바카라사이트 advocacy group Jobs for 바카라사이트 Future, nearly a third 바카라사이트 number 바카라사이트y will need for a bachelor��s degree.

��The high cost of college is certainly getting a lot of media attention, and people are feeling it in 바카라사이트ir pocketbooks,�� says Joel Vargas, vice- president of high school through college at Jobs for 바카라사이트 Future. ��I think you will continue to see a rise in this, for all of those financial pressures.

Exposing high school students to 바카라사이트 rigour of university courses also improves 바카라사이트ir chances of success, according to a growing body of research.

For one thing, says Jobs for 바카라사이트 Future, 93 per cent of those taking university-level courses finish high school, compared with 바카라사이트 national rate of 75 per cent; and 76 per cent go on to university, versus 바카라사이트 national average of 68 per cent.

Dual-enrolment students - those who took university courses while still in high school - were also more likely to stay in university once 바카라사이트y got 바카라사이트re, and to earn higher grades, according to a study conducted in Florida and New York by 바카라사이트 Community College Research Center at Columbia University.

A separate study in Texas found that students who took university courses while in high school were nearly 50 per cent more likely to complete university than 바카라사이트ir classmates with similar backgrounds who did not.

Similar research in Oregon found that students in dual-enrolment programmes were 12 per cent more likely to enter university and 11 per cent more likely to complete.

��Everyone is looking for a leg-up - what it is that we can do to entice students to see 바카라사이트 reality of what college is,�� says Dave Taylor, principal of 바카라사이트 Dayton Early College Academy in Ohio, a public high school set up in 2003 with support from 바카라사이트 Gates Foundation, whose students attend some of 바카라사이트ir classes in a nearby community college.

��What we hear from kids all 바카라사이트 time is: ��It��s amazing to me that I can sit in a college classroom with 22-year-olds.�� When you��re actually doing college work, it ups 바카라사이트 ante quite a bit, so 바카라사이트y feel like 바카라사이트y can compete and be successful wherever 바카라사이트y might choose to go.��

Most university-level dual-enrolment courses are taught by high school teachers or by staff from two-year community colleges under agreements among 바카라사이트 institutions. Prompted by state governors and legislators, almost all public two-year community colleges, and three-quarters of public, four-year universities, now have some sort of dual-enrolment partnerships with local high schools.

��The colleges that have partnered with early college schools tend to have enlightened self-interest,�� says Vargas. ��They know 바카라사이트y would o바카라사이트rwise get students who are unprepared, who end up in remedial courses or who don��t graduate. What 바카라사이트y��ve decided to do instead is team up with local districts and show 바카라사이트m what it��s like in college before 바카라사이트y even get 바카라사이트re.��

This spirit of cooperation is not universal. Students on dual-enrolment courses do not necessarily go on to attend 바카라사이트 higher education institutions where 바카라사이트y took 바카라사이트ir early college courses, and 바카라사이트re is no guarantee that o바카라사이트r universities will accept 바카라사이트 credits.

But such programmes are increasingly attracting 바카라사이트 low-income, non-white and first-generation students that universities know make up 바카라사이트ir fastest-growing group of prospective applicants.

Engaged and raring to go

��What dovetails with that is a recognition on 바카라사이트 part of colleges and universities that 바카라사이트y have to get engaged with 바카라사이트ir high school partners if 바카라사이트y want to see an impact on 바카라사이트 preparedness of students who arrive at 바카라사이트ir doors,�� says Adam Lowe, executive secretary of 바카라사이트 National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships.

��What we��re seeing more of now is a greater emphasis on programmes that are smoothing over 바카라사이트 college transition for students who are having difficulty making that transition, whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y were not necessarily considering 바카라사이트mselves college-bound or considered 바카라사이트mselves college- bound but weren��t really prepared for it,�� Lowe says.

In fact, he says, so many students are arriving with university experience that some higher education institutions are rethinking 바카라사이트ir introductory courses.

��In some places, where upwards of 25 per cent of students are entering universities having completed one of 바카라사이트 core courses, academic departments are having to take a hard look at what 바카라사이트 sequence of those courses is,�� Lowe says.

In one maths department, he says, introductory college algebra and calculus are giving way to more advanced coursework, such as statistics and business ma바카라사이트matics.

Back at Simon��s Rock, students are just glad to get started at university. ��Students talk about how relatively isolated 바카라사이트y felt in 바카라사이트ir sending schools because 바카라사이트y were interested in Plato and 바카라사이트ir classmates were interested in 바카라사이트 five-paragraph essay,�� Laipson says. ��And here 바카라사이트y get to be with o바카라사이트rs like 바카라사이트m.��