Beware the College Placement Exam

Yesterday I posted a piece about the value of college degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and how preparing our high school graduates to enroll in Calculus as their first math class is critical to their success in a STEM degree. I recognize that many looked at your son or daughter's math grades and said, "That Calculus thing?, not happening." While it is widely recognized that high school students should take four years of math in high school, to include Algebra II, to be optimally prepared for college, we also know that many students will struggle with math and continue to do so when they get to college.

The fact is that most colleges believe that a rudimentary knowledge of algebra is important to being a well rounded college student.  In fact, you will find most colleges will expect students to have completed Algebra II in high school - not doing so or testing poorly on the subject matter will likely place your high school student in a remedial course in college.  Remedial courses are non-credit courses that don't count toward a college degree, but are required for students who don't demonstrate the requisite skills in math and/or English. A remedial class will add extra time and money to a college degree. Even worse, is that students who are placed into remedial education are far less likely to complete a college degree.

While the easy answer is to make sure your high school student completes Algebra II in high school, doing so will not exempt them from remedial education.  When they walk on campus, they will be asked to complete a placement exam, typically either the COMPASS or Accuplacer. Other colleges may take a look at the ACT or SAT score. If your high school student does poorly on these tests, even if they aced Algebra II in high school, they could be placed into remedial education.   Serious bummer.

So, in addition to taking Algebra II your student should study and prepare for these exams.  There are many resources online to help your student prepare for these exams.  Here is a link for the Accuplacer and the COMPASS.

But, your efforts should not stop there. Here is the critical insight that you need to keep in mind.  Placement tests are very poor at predicting whether your high school student will pass a college level class.  In fact, there is research that demonstrates that your student's high school GPA or whether they took a rigorous math class during their senior year is more predictive of success in college-level courses than any test.

So, don't take your son or daughter's performance on a placement exam at face value - if they have taken a rigorous high school curriculum and have gotten good grades, there is no reason they should be placed into remedial education.   The same holds true for getting students into college calculus.  Don't accept a placement into College Algebra when your son or daughter has done well in advanced high school math courses.

Bottom line - while a rigorous high school curriculum offers no guarantee of getting the right placement for your son or daughter into college courses, it is going to be your strongest tool for making a strong case in favor when you advocate for a better placement.

Your potential STEM graduate

Our son Ben goes to the Denver School of Science and Technology, a high school with a clear goal of preparing high school graduates for college degrees in STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. When I talk to parents, I often hear that the school sounds great, but it is too specialized or my kid is not a "math kid." Ben would probably not describe himself as a "math kid", but he is doing math and lots of it at DSST.  So much math in fact that he and the vast majority of his classmates will complete calculus before they graduate.  I don't know about you, but I barely walked past the one section of calculus at my high school, much less took the class.

The fact of the matter is that more and more of today's jobs desire applicants with STEM fields.  A report from the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University recently found that jobs in STEM fields and Health Sciences are the fastest growing in the economy.  Further, the report says that people with STEM degrees are in high demand for many high paying non-STEM fields.  As a result, those trained in STEM are highly competitive for all jobs.

What is interesting is that when asked, almost half of high school graduates will tell you that they are interested in a STEM degree.  Students are more savvy than we realize, most know where the money is and are smart about where to find it. So you might want to take another look at your son or daughter, they may be a closeted STEM student.

The bottom line is that taking advantage of high school to challenge your son or daughter to take as much math and science in high school is a good thing, even if they don't end up as an engineer.

In a piece I did for my job at Complete College America this past week, I discussed new research that provides some insights about what it takes for a student to graduate with a STEM degree.   Bottom line, if your new college student doesn't complete calculus in their first year of college, a STEM degree is not in the cards.   Further, we know that students who start in College Algebra, rarely make into and through Calculus. So, if you have a kid dreaming of being the next Silicon Valley mogul, make sure they get through high school Calculus and enter directly into college calculus or beyond their freshman year.

While your kids might not like it, their future will be a whole lot brighter if they take lots of math - and not only because they won't be sleeping in your basement.