2009 College Readiness
College readiness has been essentially flat since 2004, but declined slightly between 2006 and 2007. There is a sizable gap in the performance between high- and low-poverty schools.
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Why is this important?
As we continue into the 21st century, higher education plays an increasing role in determining people’s life chances. Success at the college level is a key individual stepping stone to full participation in society and economic security. At the same time, having a well-educated workforce is an important component in maintaining the region’s position in an increasingly complex and competitive world system. The extent to which our primary and secondary schools are preparing their students for college-level work is a key element.
How are we doing?
Overall, Long Island high schools outperform New York State high schools. On average Long Island high schools report that 37% of their students who took Regents Examinations in 2007 scored at least 85% on more than one exam. This is down two points from 2006. State-wide, there was a similar decline to 26% in 2007.
As with other educational indicators, the school-level measure of college preparedness is strongly correlated with poverty. Low-poverty schools report very strong scores on our measure of college readiness (47% in 2007), but high-poverty schools report much lower scores (15% in 2007). High schools with a large percentage of economically poor students face a much greater challenge in academically preparing their students for college.