When my children were younger, I read a great deal about kindergarten readiness. My friends were concerned that their children had to know their letters and numbers before starting school. They also wanted to make sure that their kids would be able to separate from them and work well in a classroom.
As a Senior English teacher, I work with students on college essays and preparing for college academic work. And while there is no perfect predictor of college success, there are clear ways that students demonstrate that they are ready for college life.
When I did some research on college readiness, the vast majority of information was on academic preparation; ACT has published its College and Career Readiness Standards that outline the knowledge and skills students should have to succeed in college level classes. While this is certainly an important, maybe the most important, factor of college readiness, academic preparation is only one part of the college experience. I have met many students who are academically ready for college work, but not ready for the college experience. What are some key ways that students show us that they are ready for college?
The most basic way that students demonstrate college readiness is through basic school organization skills. Students ready for college can manage their own academics. They turn work in and turn it in on time (for the most part). They are aware of course standards, and understand what they need to do to meet them.
Similarly, students who are ready for college have begun to be independent self-advocating learners. They choose what is important to learn, and reach out to their teachers and other school staff when they have questions or issues. They are no longer passive recipients of curriculum but have become critical co-creators of their classes. Perhaps as important, they have developed multiple strategies to figure out what to do when they don’t know what to do; in other words, they know how to teach themselves!
One of the key warning signs that students are not ready for college is when they cannot function without consulting their parents. Parents who have put their children in the backseat for the college process create a dependency that often continues into college. Perhaps that is the point. Parents who are not ready to accept their children’s nascent adulthood may be more likely to enable them to remain children in order to keep the relationship from changing. Using excuses like, “my child is too busy,” “this process is too important,” and “he doesn’t really know much about college” are all rationalizations that are really saying that students are not able to function on their own. This may also say that the parent cannot or will not let the child become an independent and self-sufficient person. Perhaps getting away and going to college is just what the child needs, but without being able to function independently, college may be very challenging.
Lack of interest in college is certainly an issue as well. Many students are afraid to tell their parents or teachers that they aren’t interested in going to college. College talk is pervasive and ubiquitous. A student who does not see him or herself on the college path may feel isolated and uncomfortable when it feels like that is all anyone wants to discuss.
Some of the students who have taken time off from college or been unable to remain on a four-year traditional campus have done so because they found the social aspects of college far more enticing than academics. A student must, to some degree, have the ability to emotionally self-regulate. This is clearly a developmental issue. While social skills are critical for college success, the student who is unable to manage his or her own emotions, differ gratification, calm him or herself, or balance needs and desires is going to have significant challenges as a college student.
Related to this, students who are regularly using drugs, alcohol, or other substances are also going to find that college makes it easier to engage in many self-destructive behaviors. This makes college very attractive to them – and sometimes to their parents who may be eager to get them out of the house. However, these students’ substance use is likely going to sabotage their college careers.
What if a student is not ready for college? Why not do what we did twelve years earlier? Why not teach these skills and traits? Gap year programs focus on many of these issues. Of course, not all students are ready in all of these areas, but if students don’t have most of them, college is going to be far more than academically challenging.
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