{"id":1526,"date":"2015-03-11T20:10:13","date_gmt":"2015-03-12T02:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=1526"},"modified":"2016-01-05T10:47:38","modified_gmt":"2016-01-05T16:47:38","slug":"power-of-15-higher-education-bubble-sign-or-reynolds-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/03\/power-of-15-higher-education-bubble-sign-or-reynolds-law.html","title":{"rendered":"“Power of 15”: Higher Education Bubble sign or Reynolds’ Law?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Boy, that\u2019s a cryptic title, but something more descriptive would also be significantly wordier.<\/p>\n

\u201cPower of 15\u201d is a new initiative at our local high school. \u00a0It\u2019s a partnership between the local community college, Harper College, and the high school districts in the area, intended to bring community college classes to the high schools. \u00a0See a description in the local paper, here<\/a>. \u00a0The idea is that \u201cresearch show[s] students who enter college with 15 or more credits are twice as likely to graduate with a four-year degree,\u201d according to information sent to parents, so they\u2019re attempting to get more kids to graduate high school\u00a0with credits in hand, either from dual-enrollment classes or via AP tests.<\/p>\n

The Higher Education Bubble refers to the concept that the \u201ctraditional\u201d model of forking of huge amounts of money to \u201cgo away to school\u201d for four years will collapse in favor of new models of education.<\/p>\n

And Reynolds\u2019 Law? \u00a0That comes from Glenn Reynolds, aka, instapundit, and was first expressed in 2010<\/a>\u00a0and subsequently dubbed Reynolds\u2019 Law by the blog The View from Alexandria<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0The government decides to try to increase the middle class by subsidizing things that middle class people have: If middle-class people go to college and own homes, then surely if more people go to college and own homes, we\u2019ll have more middle-class people. But homeownership and college aren\u2019t causes of middle-class status, they\u2019re markers for possessing the kinds of traits \u2014 self-discipline, the ability to defer gratification, etc. \u2014 that let you enter, and stay, in the middle class. Subsidizing the markers doesn\u2019t produce the traits; if anything, it undermines them.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So:<\/p>\n

Up to now, most students who accumulate 15 credits before even entering college for the first time have accumulated those credits either via a very successful set of AP test sittings, or through self-initiated dual-enrollment (taking college classes on their own initiative, in the summer or in addition to their regular high school classes). \u00a0It is no surprise that those students are more likely to finish college, as this indicates a lot of motivation and overall preparedness.<\/p>\n

But this new initiative is different.<\/p>\n

They are offering six courses:<\/p>\n

College Composition \u2014 it\u2019s not clear if this provides a full year of credit or just one semester<\/p>\n

College Mathematical Applications 101 \u2014 this is a basic, general-ed, one semester math course, heavy on such topics as understanding statistics<\/p>\n

College Algebra \u2014 again, a one-semester course at the college level, with its content taught over two semesters in high school. \u00a0This one doesn\u2019t\u00a0meet general education requirements, but is intended as one step towards precalculus and, ultimately, calculus.<\/p>\n

College Physical Science \u2014 a single-semester college class, meant to meet general education requirements for non-majors.<\/p>\n

College Speech Communication \u2014 again a general education class, this time a semester-length class even at the high school level.<\/p>\n

College Introduction to Visual Art \u2014 same as Speech, a general education class.<\/p>\n

So will taking these classes help kids succeed in\u00a0college? \u00a0Will they be more successful because they have the \u201cexperience\u2019 of a college-level class, or because they\u2019ve met a prerequisite they otherwise wouldn\u2019t have, or will they benefit from simply having a head start with electives that\u2019ll mean that they will be less likely to simply fall a few credits short of the finish line? I doubt it.<\/p>\n

In principle,\u00a0I agree with the concept: \u00a0instead of having an AP English class, create a dual-enrollment class of sufficient rigor that it\u2019s transferable as a college course, through the supervision of the community college. \u00a0Same with Calculus, or any of the AP science or history classes. \u00a0Then the student is evaluated on their work product over the course of the semester rather than the outcome of a single exam.<\/p>\n

But this approach? \u00a0It won\u2019t truly expose the student to the rigor of a college class, if a semester of learning is stretched out over two. \u00a0It won\u2019t even be at the level of rigor of an AP class, with their math offering being no more rigorous than other math classes offered at the high school level. \u00a0And their requirements for enrollment in these classes \u2014 a minimum of a C average, plus certain qualifying scores for Composition and the math classes, and high school geometry \u2014 certainly don\u2019t promise much rigor, but seem to treat these as interchangeable with any other high school class in terms of skill and preparation level. \u00a0It would be far better to master \u201chigh school level\u201d coursework first, rather than enrolling in classes solely for the sake of having some items labelled \u201ccollege credit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boy, that\u2019s a cryptic title, but something more descriptive would also be significantly wordier. \u201cPower of 15\u201d is a new initiative at our local high school. \u00a0It\u2019s a partnership between the local community college, Harper College, and the high school districts in the area, intended to bring community college classes to the high schools. \u00a0See […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":1381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[242,167,100],"class_list":["post-1526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dual-enrollment","tag-high-school","tag-universities"],"yoast_head":"\n"Power of 15": Higher Education Bubble sign or Reynolds' Law?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Boy, that's a cryptic title, but something more descriptive would also be significantly wordier. 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