New Report: More Students Ready For College

INDIANAPOLIS – About 66 percent of students from the high school class of 2012 attended college the year following graduation, according to new College Readiness Reports released Tuesday.

That’s up from 64 percent the year before.

“While we are encouraged that the numbers are moving in the right direction, we must maintain our sense of urgency to ensure that every Indiana student finishes high school with a diploma that equips them for college and career success,” said Indiana Higher Education Commissioner Teresa Lubbers.

The reports also showed that two-thirds of 2012 graduating class was “college ready” and did not have to take remedial English or math courses.

“Far too many of Hoosier students continue to need remediation, which extends the time it takes them to graduate, increases the cost of their degrees and reduces the likelihood that they graduate at all,” Lubbers said in a statement. “The cost of college remediation is significant for Indiana students and taxpayers, at nearly $78 million per year in tuition funding, financial aid and direct state subsidies.”

The report also showed that the state saw a 2 to 3 percentage point increase in the number of college-ready students over a number of groups including ethnic groups and students from different income levels.

There is a large disparity in college readiness based on diploma type. Sixty-two percent of students that graduated with a Core 40 diploma and 93 percent of Academic Honors diploma graduates were ready for college the next year. Only 22 percent of general diploma graduates and 18 percent of waiver diploma graduates were college-ready.

“State and local schools have a number of efforts underway to increase college-readiness,” State Superintendent Glenda Ritz said in a statement.

“Efforts include the establishment of new college and career ready standards, strengthening of high school diploma options, and the implementation of early- intervention strategies, especially in the area of mathematics, that are designed to identify and address academic preparation deficiencies while students are still in high school.”

The report is available online at www.che.in.gov.

Alec Gray is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.