In December 2014 Achieve, Inc. released the report Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work?  We think the information in this report is important not just for schools, but for parents as well.  In our last post we shared some of the results of this survey.  In this post, we share some of the implications for parents and students.

Preparing to succeed in college seems to begin earlier and earlier.  Laying the solid foundation of academic skills, softer life skills, and getting ready for the admissions process takes years.  Some of the work is conscious for your student, and some may happen unconsciously.  Some is under your student’s direct control, and some of the preparation depends on your student’s school, family, and mentors.  Can you help?  The answer is a resounding yes, but not necessarily in ways that you might think of at first.

Both parents and students can, and must, take control of the college preparation process.

How does this affect me — or my student?

Achieve works primarily on a state level, and as a result of this survey the organization has made several important recommendations to states and to individual school districts.  We think the information is important to parents, too, and we think that parents can, and should, talk to their high school students about some of these findings.  Students who become aware of shortcomings while they are in high school rather than after high school are in a position to do something to improve their own preparation.

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In December 2014 Achieve, Inc. released the report Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work?  We think the information in this report is important not just for schools, but for parents as well.  In this post we share some of the results of this survey.  In our next post, we’ll share some of the implications for parents and students.

Preparing to succeed in college seems to begin earlier and earlier.  Laying the solid foundation of academic skills, softer life skills, and getting ready for the admissions process takes years.  Some of the work is conscious for your student, and some may happen unconsciously.  Some is under your student’s direct control, and some of the preparation depends on your student’s school, family, and mentors.  Can you help?  The answer is a resounding yes, but not necessarily in ways that you might think of at first.

A new study has just been released about students’ high school experiences and how they relate to college experiences.  It contains important information that parents can use to understand specifically how both students and parents can take more control of the college success preparation process.

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