Getting More Low Income Students Into College Isn't About Money, It's About The Curriculum

President Obama wants more low-income students to apply, enroll and graduate from college. It’s a real issue:  Only 30 percent of low-income students enroll in college right after high school, and only 9 percent earn a bachelor’s degree by age 25.
 
A recent White House summit on the issue proposed a number of ways to tackle the problem, from connecting young people to schools that better match their academic abilities; early intervention to ensure that a larger pool of low-income students are prepared for college; better access to college counseling and test preparation; and more on-campus remedial education.
 
These are all worthwhile initiatives, but unless we ensure all students are exposed to high standards and have access to a demanding curriculum, all other efforts will have a marginal effect at best.  In fact, we need to do more than establish high standards.  We need to introduce all high school students to college-level material – not just those who are already destined for college.
 
There are three primary obstacles that prevent low-income kids from achieving success in college – financial obstacles, social obstacles, and most important, academic obstacles.  Generally speaking, we can solve the financial and social obstacles through financial aid and certain support systems, but the academic obstacle remains the No. 1 barrier.  This is where we need to place our efforts.
 
I have observed the education landscape from a number of vantage points, including the private sector, government, and more recently the non-profit sector.  I’ve learned that while we can successfully address many of the social and financial barriers preventing low-income and minority  students from succeeding in college, no amount of aid, counseling or test prep can make up for the academic consequences of having students trapped in schools with low standards and a poor curriculum.  Given that our knowledge economy is increasingly dependent on college-educated professionals, we can no longer afford to graduate students without the necessary 21st century skills, which means all students must have access to rigorous, college-level coursework.
 
The Common Core State Standards may be controversial in some quarters, but 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted these standards, and it could be our best chance to get more students prepared with the skills to succeed in college and beyond.  These voluntary standards set out what students from kindergarten through 12th grade should know in English language arts and math, based on standards used by the top education systems around the world.  We can’t think of the Common Core as the ceiling.  It’s a foundation upon which we can build student success.  And it can help ensure that all students are introduced to more rigorous, college-level material.
 
What happens when you challenge kids from lower-income families with more demanding classes?  A study by the College Board shows students from poorer families who took more rigorous advanced placement courses in high school had higher four-year college-going rates, first-year grade point averages and retention rates than their counterparts who did not take any AP exams.  Low-income students taking and passing AP exams are 32% more likely to graduate from college than their matched non-AP peers.
 
In today’s knowledge economy, we need more STEM graduates ready to enter the workforce. Memorization and rote learning won’t work any longer; we need to teach our kids how to reason, how to think; they need to know how to study before entering college.
 
Our focus needs to shift to implementing higher standards tied to essential 21st century skills in every school.  Four steps are essential.  First, we need to set aggressive performance goals for schools, teachers and students, and create higher expectations for success.  Then we need to open up rigorous classes to every student.  We need to provide adequate training and ongoing mentorship opportunities for teachers.   And we need to change the collective mindset when it comes to how the learning process works, making coursework more relevant, interactive and engaging.  For example, some successful schools have added a number of Saturday study sessions taught by a master teacher, time that equates to three extra weeks of class time over the course of the year while providing valuable professional development for teachers.
 
We know what works.  The National Math and Science Initiative’s College Readiness Program offers students the opportunity to take college-level curriculum and earn college credit.  In school after school we’ve seen students respond to the challenge, set higher goals and spend more time on task.  Their teachers are better trained and have more resources in the classroom.  The results are particularly notable for minority students.  African-American students in the program were 69% more likely to graduate from a four-year college than African-Americans not participating in the program.  Hispanic students were 83% more likely to graduate.
 
With its comprehensive approach, the College Readiness Program also creates more motivation for low-income students to earn college credit, and for teachers to introduce more rigor in the classroom.  After entering the program at Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Md., one 17-year-old senior said the program helped him decide he “wanted to work hard for my future.”  And the principal of a nearby school confirmed that “All of our teachers are increasing the rigor in our classrooms.  It is opening a lot of doors for students.”
 
In his State of the Union, the President said, “The problem is we’re still not reaching enough kids, and we’re not reaching them in time.”  He’s right.  And we won’t fix this problem until all kids, no matter their background or zip code, are challenged with higher standards and a world-class curriculum.