College faculty and nation’s employers say public schools aren’t preparing students for success

A new national study finds that 

…78% of college faculty and 62% of employers believe that public high schools are not doing enough to prepare students for the expectations they will face in college and the working world.

The survey was conducted for Achieve. The group describes itself this way.

At the 1996 National Education Summit a bipartisan group of governors and corporate leaders decided to create and lead an organization dedicated to supporting standards-based education reform efforts across the states. To do so, they formed Achieve as an independent, bi-partisan, non-profit education reform organization. To this day, Achieve remains the only education reform organization led by a Board of Directors of governors and business leaders

The findings reinforce the importance of standards and accountability. Recent graduates agree with the faculty and employers. From the press release:

“Employers and college instructors are affirming what recent graduates themselves have told us; the expectations of high schools do not line up with the expectations of postsecondary education and the working world,” said Michael Cohen, President of Achieve. “Nearly half of recent high school grads reported that they weren’t fully prepared for their next steps, and even higher percentages faculty and employers agree with them. We are hearing time and again that too many students with high school diplomas, who are told that they have met the requirements to move onto their next steps, are simply not adequately prepared to succeed in college or in a job.”