LOCALIZE IT: Ideas for covering gaps in college readiness

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

They were sophomores in high school when the pandemic hit. Now they are on their way to college and careers.

Many worry the upheaval they dealt with for most of their high school careers, including long stretches of remote learning, have left this year’s high school graduates unprepared for college.

A story published Tuesday by the AP explores how colleges are preparing for waves of students who may be underprepared.

Here are some tips for localizing the story.

SOME BACKGROUND

The pandemic knocked many students off their stride as they dealt with monthslong stretches of remote learning, school staffing shortages and COVID-19 variant surges that periodically closed school buildings. The full extent of the impact remains unclear, but studies have demonstrated gaps in learning, particularly among students at high-poverty schools.

The focus of many students also has been tested by upheaval in their home lives, feelings of social isolation and jobs that they took on during remote learning to help support themselves or their families.

To help improve the chances of success for these students, colleges around the U.S. have been expanding “bridge” programs that provide summer classes for targeted groups of students, often those from lower incomes or those who are the first in their families to attend college. In some states, education officials also have unleashed federal pandemic relief to help get students up to speed.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

— Ask local colleges about any changes to summer bridge programs for students who need or want extra help before their first year. Has demand increased? Are summer orientation programs becoming more academically focused? Are they being expanded?

— Ask governors and state education offices if federal COVID-19 relief money is being used to help colleges start or expand summer bridge programs. How many colleges received grants, and how many started new ones? Some states noticed more community colleges starting bridge programs. Is that happening in your area?

— Many colleges require new students to take placement tests for math and writing. If colleges near you do that, ask for the rate of incoming students who are being placed into remedial or developmental classes this fall. How has that rate changed in the last several years? Has it risen since the start of the pandemic? In what areas are students furthest behind?

— Along with remediation, ask local colleges about grades: What percentage of first-year students failed or withdrew from entry-level classes last school year, and how does that compare to previous years? What are they expecting to see for this year’s incoming students?

— If colleges near you can provide data on remediation, ask which subgroups of students have been more likely to be placed in pre-college level classes. Is there evidence that this is one more way the pandemic has widened racial and economic achievement gaps?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

To reach students for interviews, local colleges could help connect you with incoming, first-year students who are taking advantage of summer bridge programs. Local scholarship programs also could be helpful. And the nonprofit group Communities in Schools, which works to help students reach graduation, may have staff in public schools near you. (Communities in Schools spokesperson Steve Majors can be reached at 703-518-2554 or majorss@cisnet.org.)

These groups can provide additional information on the pandemic’s impact on college readiness, along with what’s being done to address it:

— Complete College America: https://completecollege.org/media/

— Strong Start to Finish: https://strongstart.org/about/our-team/?team_roles=staff

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Localize It is an occasional feature produced by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to Katie Oyan at koyan@ap.org.