Posted on: Wednesday, October 2, 2002

Public school students lack college preparation

By Beverly Creamer and Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writers

Hawai'i's public high school students are not taking the rigorous courses they need to prepare for and succeed in college, according to a new report released today by the nonprofit National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

In its report "Measuring Up 2002," the center rated five areas, giving the state a C-minus for college preparation and a D for affordability, a C for the proportion of students completing college within five years and a B-

minus for the proportion of residents 18 to 24 enrolled in college.

In measuring the benefits of education to its students, the state received a grade of B-minus, up from C-plus in 2000.

This year's grades placed Hawai'i in 22nd place nationally, far below top performers California, Connecticut, Alaska, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Montana.

States that received "A" grades in college preparation had relatively high levels of students taking advanced math and science courses, and it's in this area that Hawai'i lags.

While DOE specialists say the state is moving to refine and toughen its curriculum in math and science, today's high school students may, for example, fill their requirement with three years of general math, and miss higher-level classes such as algebra, geometry and calculus.

It won't be until 2004 that all high schools will have to phase out general math courses, according to DOE mathematics education specialist Kathleen Nishimura.

The same is true in science, where students still are allowed to choose less-rigorous courses to fulfill their requirements, said DOE science education specialist Justin Mew.

"What we find is many students take more than three years of science," Mew said. "They take four, especially if they're going into college. But the question is, do they take the rigorous ones? If you take easier courses, you might get higher grades."

It isn't that more rigorous courses aren't available, Mew said. Virtually every high school offers some form of advanced science course. But it's up to the student to choose it.

"The schools can counsel," Mew said, "but the student and the parent have the final say... . It's akin to saying you can lead a horse to water but not force him to drink."

Last fall, the department limited to one the number of vocational education science courses that a student can choose.

More-rigorous standards also are being applied in the lower grades.

Historically, Hawai'i has scored among the lowest of states in the National Assessment of Educational Progress science test.

In 2000, nearly two-thirds of eighth-graders scored below basic proficiency in science, and nearly half of the state's fourth-graders scored below basic levels.

Four years earlier, a survey showed that only about 30 percent of Hawai'i middle-school students were taking science, compared with more than 90 percent nationally.

Hawai'i educators have seen the scores as a clear message that more needs to be done to improve science education. In response to years of disappointing scores, a new Board of Education policy will require middle school students to take science in all three years starting in the 2004-05 school year. Currently, science is required only in the sixth and seventh grades. Middle school students also will have to take and pass social studies in all three years, as well as math and language arts.

Other key findings in the national report released today:

• Hawai'i was considered a "top performer" for percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college: 42 percent.

• Compared with the state's scores two years ago, a higher share of students is taking and scoring well on advanced placement exams, one indication of strong preparation for college. But that number remains low at 122, compared with 197 in top states.

• Despite some improvement in affordability since 2000, Hawai'i families are spending nearly a quarter of their income (after financial aid) to attend public four-year colleges, compared with 18 percent in the top-scoring states.

• Hawai'i's community colleges are a bargain. The report said the poorest families are paying just 9 percent of their income to attend community colleges.

• Only 37 percent of full-time college students complete their bachelor's degree within five years, compared with 66 percent in top-performing states. Less than half complete their B.A. in six years.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013. Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertis er.com or 525-8084.