Why is College Readiness Important?

Only 45% of students enrolled in post-secondary education will earn a bachelor’s degree. This statistic is largely due to the fact that many students are compelled to take remedial coursework in their first two years. Rigorous course work in high school, such as AP and IB, better prepares students for post-secondary education and helps ensure that more students will successfully complete their university degrees. It is essential that higher-education institutions have a robust pipeline of students well prepared for college-level work and equipped with the skills and knowledge to compete and collaborate in a global economy.

The Center for College Readiness provides opportunities for educators and students to understand the importance of college readiness and its implications for post-secondary success while also providing teachers with the skills and strategies they need to better prepare their students for success.

According to the College Board, students take on average 6.2 years to complete a 4-year degree (at an average cost of $18,000 per year) often due to remedial coursework. Thus, when students have the skills necessary to complete their college degrees in 4 years, post-secondary education becomes far more affordable.

Recent research on high school performance shows that large numbers of high school graduates are not adequately prepared for post-secondary education. A 2005 survey of 1,487 recent high school graduates, 400 employers, and 300 college instructors found that: 

• Thirty-nine percent of recent high school graduates currently enrolled in college say they were not prepared for the expectations of college. 
• College professors estimate that 42% of college students are not adequately prepared by their high schools to meet the rigor of college coursework (Hart 2005). 
• The rigor of high school curriculum is a key indicator for whether a student will graduate from high school and earn a college degree. A study by the U.S. Department of Education found that the rigor of high school course work is more important than parent education level, family income, or race/ethnicity in predicting whether a student will earn a post-secondary degree (Adelman 1999, 2006).