Thursday, November 29,1990
Survey shows today's students less prepared
Faculty believes American education standards are lowering
(continued from page 1)
community here at Behrend.
Many high school seniors are
graduating without having
mastered the basic mathematical
and English skills necessary for
succeeding in college. Upon
entering Behrend and completing
Freshmen Testing, these students
find themselves placed in the
lowest level or "remedial" courses
of English 004 (Basic Writing
Skills) and Math 004
(Intermediate Algebra.)
Tina McCraken, professor of
English, sees a definite problem
of students lacking basic
grammar skills. Most of these
students schedule English 004,
but often McCraken has students
in her English 15 classes who
hand in writing assignments with
major grammatical errors far
beyond an occasional misspelled
word. Technically, these students
should have mastered basic
grammar in high school.
McCraken also feels that
students lack critical research and
writing skills as well. According
to McCracken, an estimated 1/2
of the students she teaches lack
research skills prior to taking her
classes.
Mike Chiteman, Director of
the Division of undergraduate
Studies, has mixed views
regarding the problem of
undereducated students entering
college. Chiteman says, "All
students admitted to Penn State
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Behrend's Baccalaureate Degree
Program have a common high
school background of courses."
Chiteman feels that the problem
lies in the fact that "some high
schools have intense training in
their programs and others do
not." Thus, some entering
college freshman fall below
average in Freshmen Testing and
end up in lower level courses
tagged as "remedial."
Currently at Behrend, math
004 and English 004 do not
count toward graduation because
"they cover material not deemed
to be of a college level," said
Chiteman. However, Chiteman
disagrees with this policy, and in
the future, he would like to see
PSU let these credits count
towards graduation as elective
courses.
Chiteman dislikes the tag
name of "remedial" that is often
used to describe these courses. In
Chiteman's opinion, "Instructors
at Behrend give background
information that is beyond
remedial and helps students
become more successful on
follow up courses." Chiteman
also adds, "How can anyone not
benefit from a review course?"
So is college remedial school
revisited? Figures from the fall
enrollment for 1990 show that
seven sections of English 004
and three sections of Math 004
were offered for this semester.
143 students out 620 incoming
The Collegian
freshmen (23%) took English
004 and 103 students (17%) took
Math 004. These figures show
that the majority of incoming
freshmen schedule average or
above average courses , in both
English and Math.
However, McCracken says
that she doesn't assume that her
students already know the basics
of grammar. Rather, she provides
her classes with a quick review of
grammar and organizational skills
and then teaches the rest of her
course in depth.
Whose fault is it that students
are graduating from high school
without having acquired basic
English and math skills? Mike
Chiteman hesitates to place the
blame entirely on high school
programs because often schools
have small budgets and a shortage
of qualified teachers and programs
on hand.
Furthermore, Chiteman feels
that the responsibility of
education does not lie solely on
the shoulders of one single
institution.
According to Chiteman, "it is
the students' responsibility to
educate themselves," but he
realizes that most students don't
PENNSTATE
Erie
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u.: College
42nd Annual
Hanging Of The Greens
Friday, December 7, 1990
7:00 P.M. Blue Bus will depart at 6:30 P.M.
Wintergreen Gorge Cemetery from Reed Parking Lot to
Behrend Chapel Wintergreen Gorge Cemetery
view education this seriously in
high school. Although Chiteman
feels it is the responsibility of
the educational system of a
particular high school to educate
its students, he feels parents are
"If a college takes
in students without
the basic skills, it is
the responsibility of
the college to
implement programs
to educate these
students."
-Tina McCracken,
Professor of English
also responsible and should take a
more active part in motivating
and educating their children.
Chiteman mentions the
important role that society plays
in the education process as voters
elect qualified representatives to
the school board to implement
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11 \ • •
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Page 3
quality programs for the students
in each district
"If next year testing shows a
need for more Math 004 or
English 004 courses, it is our
(the University's) responsibility
to provide them," said Chiteman.
Perhaps another major part of
the problem lies within the
tracking system. McCraken
points out that high schools
place students into specific tracks
or groups such as Basic,
Academic, and Honors. Some
tracks concentrate on grammar.
Others focus on literature and
research papers. McCraken
proposes that high schools teach
all elements in all tracks-general
to advanced- to prepare students
equally for the future.
"If a college takes in students
without the basic skills, it is the
responsibility of the college to
implement programs to educate
these students," said McCracken.
Chiteman cited that as
Behrend grows, the enrollment
standards are becoming tougher.