Editorial: Focus on increasing college preparedness

Many of us have (not very) fond memories of doing most of our high school readings and assignments from fat, boring textbooks full of minutiae but devoid of primary sources or analytical challenges. It’s not a surprise that even bright and motivated students struggle to read and write about dense academic material in their first year or two of college, while many students must take remedial courses in core subjects. To make matters worse, standards can be vastly different across states; if a second-grader moves from Maine to Michigan, his or her educational experience will be vastly different.

Enter the Common Core State Standards. These are the product of a state-led effort that is heavily funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other private donors, and it has no affiliation with the federal government. It focuses on creating shared standards for education in math and English at the K-12 level. The public school systems of 46 states — including Pennsylvania — and Washington, D.C. have adopted the Common Core.

One of the main goals of the Common Core is the introduction of more literary nonfiction into curricula at more grade levels and in more classes.

The nonfiction requirement has come under fire from educators, who say that nonfiction will appear in classrooms only at the expense of other genres, such as poetry. The goal of the Common Core standards is to incorporate nonfiction using interdisciplinary methods, like having high school students read Euclid’s “Elements” in math classes.

The fear that nonfiction will drive out other forms of literature is both understandable and concerning: Through studies of literature, students learn creativity and an understanding of abstract and challenging ideas and language. However, nonfiction is a neglected art form in high schools, and more exposure to essays and articles that present complex arguments and language would better prepare students for college-level learning.

It is particularly exciting that nonfiction will have more of a place in history classrooms, and more of its incorporation there could hopefully keep poetry units in English classes. As many — such as James Loewen, author of “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong” — note, nonfiction and primary sources are particularly lacking in high school history classrooms, replaced by the type of textbook that is not often used in college settings. Reading and writing about pieces like the Common Core-suggested “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. will better prepare students for the structure and demands of college, as well as better inform their knowledge of subjects such as history.

The issue of high school education is especially pertinent from a university perspective because these states’ adoption of new curriculum guidelines could help lower the high remediation rates at American colleges, which are a direct result of poor education or a lack of retention of high school skills. According to an article published by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, about one-third of first-year college students nationwide required remediation in basic subjects (math and English) in 2001. Remedial classes take up valuable time and can set students behind; they do not generally count toward bachelor’s degrees. Whereas “basic skills” courses at Pitt such as Algebra and Workshop in Composition fulfill the goal of helping students catch up, strengthened K-12 curricula could reduce this need, making students’ time at Pitt more efficient. The skills taught in high school classes and in remedial college classes are crucial to further success — higher-level math skills are a requirement in many majors, and every Pitt student needs to be able to construct thoughtful and well-written essays before graduation.

While the thought of poetry being pushed out of high school English classes in favor of nonfiction is concerning, hopefully a balance will be struck to teach students the skills they need to succeed in college before they arrive on campus.