Majority of college-bound juniors in Gilroy and across the state
are not ready for higher levels of academics after completing early
assessment tests
Gilroy – The majority of Gilroy High School juniors were not ready for college level coursework when they stepped off the campus in the spring. And since the teens were assessed at the end of the school year, that means most students who walked into a GHS classroom this fall have a lot to learn their senior year.
A total of 297 of the estimated 530 juniors enrolled in GHS opted to complete the voluntary Early Assessment Program in English in the spring. Of those students, only 25 percent scored high enough to be considered ready for college level English.
A total of 59 students chose to take the algebra EAP and none of the students achieved high enough scores to receive the “ready for college” rank.
The low-proficiency phenomenon isn’t unique to Gilroy. More than 60 percent of first-time freshmen admitted to a California State University require remediation in English, mathematics or both, despite having earned a B grade point average and completed the required college preparatory curriculum during high school.
And nearby sites, such as the Morgan Hill Unified School District where only 28 percent of Live Oak High School juniors were considered proficient in college English, and in university level math only 2 percent were considered ready, have similar statistics.
Morgan Hill’s Sobrato High School ranked even lower on the English sector with only 22 percent of its students considered prepared for the discipline. In math the high school jumped a bit higher than the rest with 5 percent considered ready for the college-level subject.
When the EAP scores – a collaboration between the California Department of Education, the CSU, the California Board of Education – were released last week, state chief of schools Jack O’Connell applauded the increase in test-takers.
“I am glad to see that more students took this important college-readiness assessment test in 2006 than ever before,” he said in a written statement. “The demanding global economy that today’s high school student will soon face requires higher levels of skill and knowledge … The fact that so many students are thinking about going to college is very encouraging. The (EAP) provides high school students a head start in preparing for success in college. It also is a great example of a step we have taken to smooth the transition between the K-12 system and our college system.”
GHS Principal James Maxwell said they push all juniors to take the test, not only those who are planning on attending college. The EAP scores, which are administered at the same time as the California Standards Test, are important because they let students know where they stand.
“The whole point is it can also influence what you have to do your senior year,” he said.
Students who learned that their weakness lay in the math section or who had a difficult time with the writing portion will know where to focus the majority of their efforts their final year of high school.
And just having more students take the test is an accomplishment in itself, Maxwell said.
“It’s just like pushing the sophomores and juniors to take the PSAT (Pre Scholastic Aptitude Test),” he said. “You need to be thinking about college. Our future depends on an educated populace.”
