HIGH SCHOOL has never been so appealing, it seems. More and more students are choosing to stay in high school longer than they have to, taking what's called a "post-graduate year." This trend demands that we take a closer look at how we prepare students for college, and why an increasing number of students resort to a fifth year.
Post-graduate programs, which allow high school graduates to take a fifth year of high school before going to college, have been in place at a few schools -- mostly private New England prep schools -- for several decades. But until recently, according to officials from these schools, these programs were small and primarily attracted athletes who wanted an extra year to improve, mature physically, and make up for less-than-impressive academic records before heading on to college.
In the last five years, postgraduate programs have rapidly begun to attract mainstream students that want an extra year purely for academics. Instead of athletes, these programs are filling with students trying to make up for failures in high school. The new crop of students isn't seeking a fifth year just to help unacceptable grades barely get over the minimum bar. Rather, they're doing it to become more competitive applicants to the top schools in the country.
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Reports from schools with post-graduate programs show that current fifth-year students are a markedly different breed from their predecessors. "There are a lot more kids and parents who want to groom and prepare more. It seems often to be a year for padding the curriculum vitae," said Jamie Robinson of Connecticut's Kent School ("High School Trend: An Extra Year," The New York Times, June 24.).
Admissions officers from these schools have cited the increased competitiveness in college admissions as driving the growth of postgraduate programs. As more and better candidates apply to the nation's top colleges, students are turning to a postgraduate year to make up the difference between them and other applicants.
Many of the students opting for this extra year had applied to a number of colleges from high school and were not happy with their admissions success. With an extra year of coddling and more personalized attention under their belts, many got into the schools of their choice -- schools that wouldn't take them a year earlier.
A large number of students turning to a postgraduate year instead of going straight to college is disturbing because it indicates that four years of high school isn't preparing students to be competitive.
That reflects one or both of two possible explanations, neither of which is pleasing. High schools may actually be failing -- more than they have previously been -- to prepare students to compete in the academic world. Public high-school students apply along with students from specialized college-preparatory schools, home schools, and schools in other countries. Those other sources of students stabilize the quality of applications. So if above average American high school students are losing the ability to compete, perhaps public high schools are failing to a degree they had not been five years ago.
It may also be the case that schools are not to blame, but rather that some students are slacking off and using the post-graduate year as a safety net. If that is true, students are not really becoming more academically qualified with their fifth year -- it's difficult to make up for several years of poor effort with an extra year of cramming.
This is an extension of behavior we already know students exhibit -- finding ways to maintain the appearance of being educated without actually being so. The recent popularity of SAT preparatory courses demonstrates this. Students aren't becoming any smarter by taking the courses -- they're just learning how to make colleges think they are.
The same is true with students who take an extra year to improve their college admissions competitiveness. The focus for these students is not on continuing their education, but rather on buffing up their résumé.
Regardless of what proportion of blame should lie with students and high schools for these students needing an extra year, the problem needs attention. Are our high schools falling behind and forcing above-average students to find a way around the system to remain competitive? Is the above-average American public high school student just not good enough anymore? Or has the availability of ways to manipulate the admissions process -- such as taking a postgraduate year -- enabled students to slack off, knowing there's a safety net to catch them if they fall?
The answers to these questions are not crystal clear. What is apparent, though, is that the strength of a high school education is no longer enough for these students to get into the colleges they want to attend. Whether the solution is improved schools, a stronger work ethic, or decreased access to ways around the system, we should remember that these students are not merely demonstrating a desire to get ahead. They're also proving that we've fallen behind.
(Bryan Maxwell is the Cavalier Daily Opinion editor.)
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