Success of College Readiness Intervention Hard to gauge

An article on Success of College-Readiness Intervention Hard to Gauge by Catherine Gewertz on Education Week was very inspiring and also an eye opener for me.


(http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/01/20/18eap_ep.h30.html?tkn=LNLFPhdYSdqWQbuQprV2ADQ3gu7OH%2F%2FW9TP8&cmp=clp-edweek)


There seems to be of major concerns among higher education institutions in the US and California particularly that high school graduates are NOT ready for college. I find this interesting as it has a lot in common with the situation in Malaysia. We have programs like Matriculations, Pre-U, Preparatory classes, Bechalaurette,Finshing schools and Inductions to help college going students better prepared for their tertiary education.
Some universities even go down a level to offer these 'bridging' programs to ensure flow of students into their institutions while trying hard to maintain their minimum entry requirements.


Parents like me send their children to preparatory classes like English, second language classes, soft skills development, music, sports clinics and ICT certifications just to ensure that they can have the extra advantage and college ready.This indicates that there is a big gap between high school education output and the college readiness requirement.


I can still remember my 1970s experience of adjusting to college education upon completion of my high school. There is no matriculation or pre-u program to help readiness. All I had was the University orientation week which tend to be more incline to 'freshie bullying field day'.


How i struggled through my 3 year Diploma program, with the worst score in the first semester itself and did not enjoy any moment of it except when I was doing sports and represented the University. I also noted that my first degree was easier and later my post degree the easiest!


I also remembered how some colleagues that failed in the same program later excelled in a different program at a different university.


I came to the conclusion college readiness has a lot to do with it. So having a mechanism to indicate that a student is college ready would be great. A supporting program to better prepare a students would be welcomed and appreciated, other than there is money to be made.