It isn’t news that some students are academically ready for college before high school graduation. But it might be a surprise to know that nearly 1 in 4 11th-graders meet this benchmark at the end of the school year, according to results from the ACT that measure college readiness.
Should those students head off to college without having a senior year? Yes and no, a new report from Education Reform Now and the Alliance for Excellent Education argues. The report makes the case that there should be better pathways for these nearly 850,000 students — one-third of whom come from low-income households — to begin college coursework but still remain in high school, if they choose, and possibly save time and tuition money.
“A lot of students don’t need the ‘12′ in ‘K-12,’” said Michael Dannenberg, co-author of the report. “We can create clearer, more affordable, more student-oriented pathways to and through college.”
