Who's A is better?

So who’s A average is better – the shiny, new north Atlanta suburban high school’s or the less affluent, rural high school in Troup county? More importantly what does the A average mean and predict? According to “Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities”, the answer might surprise you.

In a recent editorial by Maureen Downey in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ms Downey reviewed this important study led by Dr. William Bowen of Princeton. This study tracked the graduation rate of 200,000 freshmen who entered college in 1999. This study was unique in its focus on the graduation rate rather than the admission to State universities. The results of these studies are shaking the historical preconceptions of who should go to and who will graduate from a university. After-all, isn’t graduation from the university the most important measure of success?

Every Fall, the parents in the suburban schools complain that their students A average is superior to the A average from a school like Troup County High school. Surely the suburban curriculum is more rigorous and their facilities are superior so their A must be better as well. That is not necessarily true says the study.

The study concluded that an A average at both schools demonstrates that the students are disciplined, hard working and likely to do well in college. In short, the parents should stop worrying about which high school their children attend and focus on their child earning an A/B average. The more AP classes the better. The authors’ found that “You have to work. You have to pay your dues. You’ve got to achieve. If you do, you will succeed.”

The authors concluded that students with exemplary grades from weak high schools graduate from state universities at a high rate regardless of whether it came from a suburban school, and inner city school or a rural school. The authors concluded that “a grade, is a grade, is a grade”.

The study also debunks the myth that minority students with good grades from poor high schools are out of the league in demanding (more selective) colleges. The study concluded that “Our research indicates that black students who went to more selective institutions graduated at higher, not lower, rates than did similarly prepared black students who went to less selective institutions.”

“More selective institutions” appears to be the key finding in this ground breaking study. The study proves that the more selective the school the higher the graduation rate. In some ways that is counter intuitive. Many Troup county parents feel that their student might be intimidated or not ready for the more selective schools and therefore “under match” them in less selective schools. The consequences to this approach are statistically dramatic.

The study found that students with similar qualifications (GPA and SAT/ACT test scores) had dramatically different graduation rates depending on the type of university they attended. Those that attended the “most selective” universities had an 89% graduation rate. Those that selected the “least selective” universities had a 59% graduation rate. Remember, by most application measures these students were equally qualified. The primary difference was the type of university they attended. The higher the student shot (i.e. the more selective the school) the higher the graduation rate.

According to the study, today’s community colleges are not the best solutions. Bright, well prepared community college students are 36% less likely to make it through to a bachelors degree than similar qualified students who start at four –year institutions. This defies the conventional wisdom of parents and students who hoped to use community colleges to save money. The authors’ conclude that “it is pretty hard to argue with the data….If you want a bachelor’s degree and you can start at a good four year institution, that is what you should do.”

Why do community college students fall by the wayside so often? Other research has shown that there is often a lack of motivated and challenging peers in the community college environment. This environment is often coupled with an overly complicated and inefficient credit transfer process. According to David Baime of the American Association of Community Colleges, “community college officials are acutely aware that they must do more to maximize the number of students who graduate; it’s a huge and growing concern.”

There is much to learn and think about in this study. Some of it requires an open mind because it counters conventional thinking. However, it is good news for the students of Troup County. Our A average is as good as anyone else’s A average. Hard work and shooting for the stars remains a tried and true recipe for success. Some things never change.

Published 11/5/09 - LaGrange Daily News