LAUSD considers lower requirements for graduation – Opinion

Posted by deslava27 |

LAUSD considers lower requirements for graduation – latimes.com. This article and the proposal that the LAUSD is considering once again lowering college prep course standards for students making a passing grade from a C to a D makes me extremely upset. To begin what is the point of taking a college prep course when passing is a D. What is the point of making college prep courses when students can’t pass them because their reading and comprehension skills are below even a High School level. In what college in this nation is passing a D?  This type of thing goes on to show you why trying to force children into college doesn’t work. It isn’t that the students don’t want to go to college, they just don’t see the point, and also the fact that they come into High School already behind.

On a National Level more than 20% of  adults read at the 5th grade level. one-fifth of adults in the nation read on a level that would cause them to flunk out of a pre-college prep course. College prep courses are designed to initiate students to the harder demands of college. Those 5 page book essays you wrote in high school are nothing when you have a 20 page paper due with citations and research. How can you expect students with terrible reading levels to comprehend let alone take a part and analytically study at a college level when their reading skills are way behind.

Also what kind of message does this send the kids. Yes you are failing, you can’t catch up but we will lowered the standard for you to pass. Does this even happen at an employment level. I mean if you can’t do your job competently enough does your boss lower the workload for you? Of course not. It is the lack of trade schools today that is a cause of many issues in the school system. No longer are students who obviously have no interest in college taught a skill or a craft. Some people don’t want to go to college, and forcing them as they have in L.A. to take college course cause disasters like this.  Some kids don’t have the talent for college, or don’t want to go and spending the time and resources so they can “Pass” on paper is useless.