How Easy High Schools Are Failing Their Students

With recent studies indicating that students are leaving high school unprepared for college-level coursework, Neil Campbell explains how schools should redesign the education experience to be more challenging, engaging, and relevant.

Millions of students are leaving high school unprepared for college-level coursework. At the same time, millions of students are reporting that high school is too easy. This paradox raises a question: If high school is too easy, shouldn’t that mean students have already demonstrated that they’re ready for the challenges of college?

Most high schools today will look familiar even to folks like me who are losing (or just starting to lose) the battle with gray hair. Maybe classes are in 90-minute blocks rather than 45-minute periods. Maybe there are more Advanced Placement or college courses available, as well as new electives or online classes. But the rhythms and structures of high school sequences and credits have remained familiar for decades.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Hechinger Report. Click here to view the full article.

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