Page 79 - Crisis in Higher Education

Underlying Problems • 53

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eliminate a university education as an option because of high costs.
Government’s response to affordability problems is to push a robust pack-
age of policies that expand grant and loan programs. However, a solution
that provides more government support and does not reform the system
guarantees that wasteful activities will continue and costs will increase
faster than inflation.
There is more to access than the cost of higher education. Many students
are simply not prepared. Intelligent students, especially inner-city, minor-
ity students, drop out of primary or secondary school for a wide variety of
reasons. The average graduation rate for urban high schools is only about
50%, and it is lower for African American males. Without a herculean
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effort in the pursuit of a General Educational Development (GED) certifi-
cation, they have no access to a university degree.
Then, there are students who graduate from high school but did
not take the right courses for higher education. There are others who
took the right courses but did not learn as much as they should have.
In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for
2012, the United States ranked 26 out of 34 countries that are part of
the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. PISA
focuses on mathematics with some science and reading. One out of
four U.S. students did not reach baseline level 2, which is where stu-
dents begin to show the ability to participate effectively in day-to-day
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activities. In 2012, a state representative in Florida claimed that 50% of
the state’s high school graduates cannot read at grade level. According
to the representative, that level is not difficult. There is no reading test
in twelfth grade, but there is evidence to support his claim. On the state-
wide, tenth-grade exam scoring a 3 or higher is considered reading at
or above grade level. Only 39% of tenth graders scored that well. Poor
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reading skills are worse than poor math skills because if students can-
not read well, it is difficult to learn anything requiring reading, which
is most everything.
Even when students have learned what they need to learn and have
access to government funds, they may not be aware of their ability or do
not know how to proceed. These students do not have the information
about the process and are unaware of which schools are affordable and
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a good fit academically. They do not have the relationships or networks
with people who encourage pursuit of a university degree, and they lack
role models and mentors, who can help them succeed or at least get them
to someone who can help.