What's the cure for senioritis? our high school students are frittering away their senior year. Can anything be done?

Jason Dowell, a sophomore at Cecil Community College in Maryland, is a member of the Alpha Alpha Theta Honor Society and is planning to go to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County this fall to earn a degree in computer science.

But it's a bit of a surprise he has made it this far. "High school babied the students, especially in the senior year," says Jason. "The school didn't push me enough or in the right direction, and they certainly didn't tell me enough about college." At the end of his senior year, he realized that he knew virtually nothing about college requirements, placement tests, or how to apply. He'd spent his high school years working from 3 to midnight to earn enough to buy a car.

Jason is one of the many students who do not make the most of high school--and pay the price in college. During his first year of college, he had to work twice as hard just to learn what many of the other kids had mastered in high school.

Many students view their senior year as a waste of time: a year off that they've earned by getting into college or a reward for surviving 12 years of school. It's called "senioritis." Some don't know the consequences, and others simply fall victim to the notion that senioritis is just part of high school.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

What many kids don't realize, however, are the negative effects of senioritis. In a changing economy where more than 70 percent of high school graduates enter some form of postsecondary education and where students need more than a high school degree to succeed financially, they simply can't afford to waste one-quarter of their high school years.

Seniors need to be ready academically for college. Currently, nearly 30 percent of entering college freshman must enroll in remedial education courses because they aren't properly prepared. In most cases, students taking these courses do not earn college credit, but must pay the same amount in tuition as if they did. Students end up staying in college longer and cost themselves, their parents and states more money. Or, they never graduate at all.

In fact, schools, families and communities are not meeting the educational needs of more than 50 percent of American students, according to an October 2001 report by the National Commission on the High School Senior Year. Based on conversations with educators, citizens, parents, policymakers and students, the commission concluded that the lack of coordination between the curriculum, standards and assessment systems of K-12 and postsecondary education leads to inadequate student preparation.

WHO'S TO BLAME?

With so much at stake, it's important to look at why senioritis is so prevalent. Contributing factors might include the disconnect between K-12 and higher education, the college admissions timeline, state accountability systems, and even attitudes among students and parents.

"Senior slump appears to be the rational response of high school seniors to an education system in which no one claims the content of the senior year as a basis for further education," says Michael Kirst, professor of education at Stanford University and author of Overcoming the High School Senior Slump: New Education Policies.

The timing of college admissions encourages students to work hard their sophomore and junior years, but does little to encourage them to do well their senior year. Higher education views this as a K-12 problem. K-12 is more focused on getting their students accepted into college, while failing to stress the importance of preparation and placement. But getting into a particular college doesn't necessarily mean that a student is prepared to succeed. As in Jason Dowell's case, this isn't always clear to the student until it's too late.

WHY BOTHER?

Not only does it seem the system may be failing students by not requiring academically challenging classes, but seniors seem to be failing themselves by not choosing to take more rigorous courses. Despite 49 states having accountability systems in place, seniors do not seem to be faring much better now than before most of the standards were adopted during the 1990s. Only New York's statewide assessment includes material from the senior year. All other states test only what students have learned through their junior or sophomore year.

Another problem is that high school graduation criteria often don't reflect college entrance and placement requirements. A study by the Education Trust, a Washington, D.C.-based, independent, nonprofit organization, shows that colleges typically require more high school courses for placement in freshman level classes than high schools require for graduation. This sends mixed signals to students and contributes to the high remediation rates.

Add to all this some poor attitudes among students and parents and you have a system that gives very little reason to work hard through all four years of high school. Arkansas Representative Joyce Elliott, a high school English teacher, is alarmed that "most seniors are dedicated during their first semester. But, by the second semester, they're thinking that they want to take the easy way out by dropping their more difficult classes." Elliott says that parents give their blessing. "They allow their kids to work an inordinate number of hours to save for a car or whatever else at the expense of their education."

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Discussions about senioritis have been slowly gaining steam in states and among policymakers as the effects become more evident. Several policy options have surfaced, including statewide K-16 partnerships, advanced placement courses and dual or concurrent enrollment in college while still in high school.

Fifteen states have separate legislative committees overseeing K-12 and higher education, which limits opportunities to coordinate policy. Even in states with one education committee, K-12 and higher education policies are usually considered separately.

"We have discovered that the business of college preparation must begin earlier, certainly by middle school," says Indiana Representative Sue Scholer. "Higher education and the K-12 system need to form partnerships to accomplish that. Georgia's PREP program, begun as a component of the P-16 Initiative, is just one example of what states can do. Dollar for dollar, they're our best investment."

The Georgia initiative's goals include coordinating expectations, curriculum and assessments for students in preschool through college, as well as securing a qualified teacher in every Georgia public school classroom by 2006.

The Education Coordinating Council provides overall coordination and leadership for the initiative at state and local levels. It serves as a forum for communication among all the agencies, with participants from every level of education.

Changes since the P-16 Initiative began include a new multiagency linked database that collects information on reforms; new admission requirements at the university system of Georgia, specifically requiring a fourth year of mathematics; and a Postsecondary Readiness Enrichment Program to help at-risk middle and high school students prepare for college by providing supplementary academic and cultural enrichment programs.

These types of programs aren't cheap, however. From FY 1997 through FY 2002, Georgia spent $16.5 million in addition to $12 million from the federal government and other private funding on this system. Yet the investment seems to be paying off. Since 1995, when the state began its P-16 efforts, the average SAT score has gone from 998 to 1029. And there was a 15 percent increase in the number of high school graduates who completed the full college preparatory curriculum.

At least 23 states along with Georgia have statewide K-16 partnerships, although few are on this same scale. Most have originated through agreements among agencies, and three formed as a result of an executive order. One of the most notable moves toward K-16 is in Florida where the Legislature has abolished the board of regents and all existing statewide boards and commissions related to postsecondary education in favor of a K-20 system.

Another suggestion that Kirst has made is that colleges should accept students on a contingency basis, meaning that they must successfully complete senior courses before being allowed to attend college. Vermont Representative Howard Crawford agrees. "Admitting students to college on a conditional basis in which the colleges re-evaluate student transcripts after high school graduation would create an incentive for seniors to work hard throughout their entire final year," he says.

Requiring all students to take entrance exams with writing samples, requiring senior math for admission to college and factoring scores from state subject matter examinations into admissions formulas might also help. "One way to alleviate some of these problems is to increase requirements during the senior year," says Maryland Delegate David Rudolph, partnership coordinator between Cecil Community College and the Cecil County Public Schools.

Rudolph also believes remedial college courses could be offered as a senior option for students. "Remedial education has become a standard part of a student's program at our community colleges and universities," he says. "High school students should be able to take a placement exam early in their senior year so that if they need remedial assistance they can take the courses they need before they are forced to pay colleges to provide it."

Over half the schools in the country offer advanced placement courses as a way to challenge students and help prepare them for college. These programs allow students to earn college credit while still in high school. If a student's score on an advanced placement test is good enough, he or she may earn credit depending on the criteria set by the college.

Not all schools, however, are created equal, and not all schools offer advanced placement courses equally. The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in California in 1999 arguing that high schools that offer no or few advanced placement courses make getting into certain colleges more difficult for African American, Hispanic and disadvantaged students. Some colleges, such as the University of California, give extra weight for advanced placement classes. But many high schools, often those predominantly attended by economically disadvantaged or minority students, don't even offer the courses.

Sometimes called dual or concurrent enrollment, some states allow high school students to take college courses along with their high school work as yet another way to make the senior year more productive and challenging. Thirty-two states have programs that allow high school students to earn college credit while in high school. The trick is figuring out a way to pay the per-pupil allotment to the district, while still paying the college for the courses. Administering these programs efficiently is daunting.

FUTURE POLICY ACTION

With the Bush administration's focus on the No Child Left Behind Act, (the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act), the recommendations of the National Commission on the High School Senior Year, (started by Clinton) have received little attention recently at the federal level. But states continue to seek ways to improve student achievement at all levels and refine college preparation. As greater numbers of students seek a college education, there may be more state legislative action down the road.

"It may be more difficult for local control states to impose changes at the state level," Crawford points out, "but there are still ways that states can help make the senior year more challenging and meaningful so that students are more prepared for college and the workforce."

RELATED ARTICLE: FLORIDA RESTRUCTURES THE WAY SCHOOLS ARE GOVERNED

Under the impetus of a ballot initiative in 1998, Florida has completely overhauled its education system. Instead of two distinct governing bodies to oversee K-12 education and higher education, the Legislature created a seven-member state education board appointed by the governor to oversee it all. The board of regents and all postsecondary education boards and commissions were abolished.

A former Florida senator, Jim Home is now leading Florida's new Department of Education. His job is to connect the state system of education from elementary schools to universities into one seamless structure designed to ease the transition from one level of education to the next.

The Legislature assigned four goals: higher student achievement; seamless articulation and maximum college access; skilled workforce and economic development; and quality services.

The new board aims to:

* Increase the supply of highly qualified K-12 instructors.

* Apply existing academic standards consistently at all levels.

* Increase rates of learning and completion at all levels, especially in high school.

* Raise the proportion of K-12 graduates, particularly low-income and minority students, who enter postsecondary education without remediation.

* Improve the quality of school leadership at all levels.

* Set and align academic standards for every level of the K-20 education system.

* Coordinate the workforce's education with the skills required in the new economy.

* Align financial resources with performance expectations at each level of the K-20 education system.

But not everyone is as convinced as Home that this new system will be successful. U.S. Senator and former Governor Bob Graham has been collecting signatures in an attempt to overturn the K-20 system. He asserts that it won't provide what's really important: higher teacher salaries, smaller schools and class sizes, and more money for public schools.

NATIONAL GROUP STUDIES SENIOR YEAR

The National Commission on the High School Senior Year was a partnership among The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Chaired by Kentucky Governor Paul E. Patton along with vice chair jacquelyn Belcher, president of Georgia Perimeter College, the commission's charge was to examine the last year of high school and recommend ways to improve it.

In the fall of 2001, the commission released its final report, which calls for:

* Improved alignment--States should create seamless P-16 systems, from preschool through postsecondary education, which include coordinated standards, curriculum and assessments.

* Increased achievement--States should require schools to offer all students college preparatory classes, establish a demanding and rigorous curriculum, ensure that elementary and middle schools prepare students for work on the next level, and improve teacher training to prepare graduates to teach all children to meet higher standards.

* Expanded alternatives--States should allow students to finish high school at their own pace, moving on as they meet standards, including a portfolio of work and a senior project.

HOW DO WE COMPARE INTERNATIONALLY?

Two important studies, the Third International Mathematics and Science Study and Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat, compare the mathematics and science achievement of American students with that of students in other countries.

The first study in 1995 involved 42 countries at three grade levels. The repeat study, in 1999, collected data on eighth graders in 38 countries.

The studies found that American students, while among the top performers early on, don't continue learning as much as students from other countries during their secondary school years. Although U.S. students test well initially, they outperform only Cyprus and South Africa in science by the senior year. The studies also show that American high school seniors are less likely to be enrolled in math or science classes than their international counterparts. Sixty-six percent of American seniors take math; the average in all the other countries is 79 percent. Similarly, while only 53 percent of Americans take science as seniors, 67 percent of international students do so.

Demaree K. Michelau tracks education issues for NCSL.