College Knowledge

College Knowledge:
What It Really Takes for Students to Succeed and What We Can Do to Get Them Ready

Although more and more students have the test scores and transcripts to get into college, far too many are struggling once they get there. These students are surprised to find that college coursework demands so much more of them than high school. For the first time, they are asked to think deeply, write extensively, document assertions, solve non-routine problems, apply concepts, and accept unvarnished critiques of their work.

College Knowledge confronts this problem by looking at the disconnect between what high schools do and what colleges expect and proposes a solution by identifying what students need to know, and be able to do, in order to succeed.

The book is based on an extensive three-year project sponsored by the Association of American Universities in partnership with the Pew Charitable Trusts. This landmark research identified what it takes to succeed in entry-level university courses. Based on the project's findings and interviews with students, faculty, and staff, this groundbreaking book delineates the cognitive skills and subject area knowledge that college-bound students need to master in order to succeed in today's universities. These Standards for Success cover the major subject areas of English, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, second languages, and the arts.

This is not a book of platitudes and generalities. Instead it offers a wealth of intelligent, specific ideas on how to improve education for all students. While educators will find the book enlightening, parents and high school students will be interested to learn what a genuine 'college prep' program is, how many schools with good reputations fail to provide it, and what they can do to steer their own right course of study.
•Michael Riley, superintendent, Bellevue School District, Bellevue, Washington

The book clearly shows the limitations of the current system of college preparation and how students fail to comprehend the labyrinth of requirements that they are forced to navigate. It also reveals how different students in the same school can experience very different levels of success and how they prepare for college in very different ways. College Knowledge is filled with ideas that can be implemented by high school teachers and administrators to improve their college preparation programs. Parents and educators will find this book to be an indispensable guide to the fundamental knowledge and habits of mind their college-bound kids need to develop before they leave high school.

To purchase a printed copy, email lindsay_bradley@epiconline.org.