Rising to the Challenge:
Are High School Graduates Ready for College and Work?
A Study of Recent High School Graduates, College Instructors and Employers
- As many as two in five recent high school graduates say that there are gaps between the education they received in high school and the overall skills, abilities and work habits that are expected of them today in college and in the workforce.
- College students who took Algebra II or higher level math courses in high school are more than twice as likely to feel prepared for the math they are expected to do in college (60% feel well prepared) than students who did not take Algebra II (26%).
- High school graduates, who did not go to college, but who took Algebra II or higher in high school are even more likely to say they are prepared for the math they will face at work, as 68% of those who took Algebra II or higher feel prepared for the math they are expected to do at work, compared with 46% of those who did not take Algebra II.
- 65% of college students and 77% of non-college students now say that they would have worked harder and applied themselves more in high school, even if it had meant less time for other activities
Printable version (.pdf)