Did your highschool experiences prepared you for college?

Reflection on My Four Years in Capuchino High School

My four year experience in Capuchino High School are great examples of college readiness. Along with this, my experiences will be synthesize with quotes from college readiness expertise that define college readiness.

My Four Year Experience in Capuchino High School greatly contributed in preparing me to be successful in college. One of the important skills I have attained being in Capuchino was self management. This skills was developed due to the IB classes that I have taken. These rigorous classes have such high academic demands because the standards it meets are similar to college courses. With this in mind, self management do play huge role because of the fast moving phase of learning these classes. Self management is actually an important aspect of defining college readiness.Self management includes ".time management techniques and habit  accurately estimating how much time it takes to complete all outstanding and anticipated time..using calendars..[and] prioritizing time.." (Conley, 2010) Prioritizing assignments according to their due dates is crucial in meeting deadlines for the work. This could be achieved with time management because its a skill that enforces the student to accommodate time for specific assignments to be finished.Self management is important in college because succesful students in college use effective self-management skills and being responsible. Another important experience. Another important skills I have developed was my communication skills. This skill was enhanced in my IB English class due to the constant Socratic seminar we practice in that class. For example, David T. Conley says that communication involves constructing " well reasoned arguments or proofs to explain phenomeno or issues [using] well recognized forms of reasoning to construct an arguement and defend a point of view.."Most of our discussion requires a student to have  precise point and should be proven with specific evidence. The students would then be enforced to deliver their argument and they have to be clear and concise in delivering their statements. In terms of passage analysis, students would then dissect passages that related to the main theme portrayed in the passages and explain to his or her peers the structure, the rhetorical devices, etc. Along with this, student have to be confident in presenting their argument to have a stronger emphasis on their statement.This is important in college because communication will be needed in terms of group work, presenting student's project, talking to the professors and many more.


My motivation and determination to get an acceptable GPA in high school indicates that I am prepared and will be successful in college.  According to William Bowen, a former president of Princeton University, he argues that high school grades "..reveal qualities of motivation and perseverance as well as the presence of good study habits and time management skills that tells us great deal about the chances that a student will complete a college program.."(Clark, 2009) I joined AVID because I am determined to be academically prepared for college. AVID did this by  giving me crucial information about college to make me an outstanding candidate competing against so many applicant. This involves  putting my best effort in my classes to get a good GPA considering that college use this as to decide who will be admitted to their university. Along with this, I also developed effective academic skills that truly helped me on getting a good GPA. Through AVID, I developed "good study behaviors [such] as time management, preparing for and taking examinations, using information resources, taking class notes, and communicating with teachers and advisors." (Conley, 2010) Our AVID teacher put emphasis on the importance of note taking by constantly using cornel notes as this been proven that taking notes on this format is an effective way to process thinking. AVID also build up my confidence with constant presentations and group work through tutorials. With everyday group work, it enhanced my communication skills and really learned the importance of accepting critiques, different perspective of my team mates.

Define College Readiness

The claims provided below had been strongly proven, analysed, and evaluated by reliable COLLEGE READINESS experts and professionals.

Academic Skills
A student who's well prepared for college possess effective academic skills which includes reading, writing, and critical thinking.
According to an Educational Policy researcher , David T. Conley, argues that students "need to be able to read a textbook and posses the skills necessary to decode the text.. [and] employ the strategies necessary to identify key concept.."(Conley, 2010) He argues effective reading skills as a part of a student's academic
skills is important in college readiness. Reading skills requires comprehending the key concepts of the reading by constantly annotating the text and highlighting to dissect information. Therefore, active reading enforces the student to engage with the text and will greatly contribute in learning the lesson provided the professor in order to pass college classes. Understanding these key concept will then build an argument  and this is important because "in college, faculty want students to identify (or produce) an argument base upon evidence from reliable sources, observation or experimentation." (Johns, 2010) Critical thinking plays a huge role in building an argument because it involves synthesizing information that explains and proves the argument. The similar case is also seen in writing because "college writing requires students to present arguments clearly, substantiate each point.." (Conley, 2010) To accomplish this, "students need to know how to prewrite, how to edit, and how to rewrite a piece before submitting it.." (Conley, 2010) Taking these steps will ensure if the point or argument presented in the paper is clear and concise.

Motivation and Determination
College readiness requires motivation, determination, and willingness. For example, Ann M. Johns, a college readiness expert, argues that "the most important predictors of academic success in college are the student's self-discipline and motivation.."(Johns, 2010) She believes that motivation is an important element for a student to be successful in college because motivation will bring students to the finish line. According to Mr. Raymond Koopsmans, a current Ameri Corps member, he says "... I needed to maintain my motivation and determination.. [and] now,..I look forward to entering medical school at the University of Washington." (Koopsman, 2013) Mr. Koopsman was a first generation college graduate and was completely unaware of what college is in the beginning of his highschool years. With his motivation, he joined AVID that helped him prepare for college and he even says, "Without the skills I learned in AVID, I would not have been able to achieve [my goals]" (Koopsman, 2013). Due to his determination, he found a way to learn about college to achieve his ultimate goal of graduating with a degree in Mathematics and Biochemistry. Another important aspect of college readiness is willingness.  In fact, Mrs. Deanna Mascle, a Morehead State College Readiness Coordinator, stated that "the problem is that [students] lack confidence and their ability to use/adapt their existing knowledge and the motivation to learn and try.." (Mascle, 2013) Students need to adapt to college knowing that it will be different from high school and doing so requires their willingness to accomplish this. With their willingness, student will be more open in accepting and solving the struggle they may face in college.


Independent/Responsibility

Self management, being independent, and being responsible are key elements in college readiness. Self management includes "..time management techniques and habit are accurately estimating how much time it takes to complete all outstanding and anticipated time..using calendars..[and] prioritizing time.." (Conley, 2010) Conley mentioned the prioritizing because in college, students are independent and there is no bell schedule. Prioritizing the tasks and assignments that needed to be done is very important because it allows students to manage their time. Another aspect of college readiness is being responsible most especially with budget financing. "Students need to know how to build and manage their own budgets.." (Pliska, 2013) Pliska, a first generation college graduate faced financial difficulties and learned that managing budget played a huge role in college. This is part of being independent and being responsible paying rents and tuition on time. Furthermore, another college readiness expertise argued that "For academic asistance, [students]  visit faculty during their office hours to ask questions about class requirments, demostrating they they and motivated ans studying.."(Johns, 2010) Since college are not the same as high school teachers who provide full support that students rely on, college students need to be responsible of going and actually meeting their professor is assistance if needed.

COLLEGE READINESS have 3 main categories which are: effective academic skills, motivation/determination, and being independent/ responsible. Students who accomplish these categories will be most prepared and will be successful in college.

Who Will Get Through College

The following two indicators are supported with statistical analysis in terms of percentage and reliable research. These claims by Kim Clark are proved to be effective indicator of students Who Will Get Through College.

A.) First indicator: "High school grades are key." (Clark, 2009)

Kim Clark claims that high school grades are good and effective indicators for evaluating students who will be successful in college. According to William Bowen, a former president of Princeton University, he argues that high school grades "..reveal qualities of motivation and perseverance as well as the presence of good study habits and time management skills that tells us great deal about the chances that a student will complete a college program.."(Clark, 2009)Bowen's argument is further proved with higher statistics of high school students with at least 3.00 G.P.A are more likely to graduate from college.With this in mind, student who have good grades in high school have attained  effective studying skills in order to maintain an exceptional GPA.  

B.) Second indicator: "True achievement tests are useful indicators." (Clark, 2009)

Advance Placement(AP) or International Baccalaureate(IB) test scores are proven to effectively indicate students who complete college.

For example, Kim Clark argues that "Advance Placement test [or International Baccalaureate] scores tell colleges more about a student's ability to complete college than other tests..[because these] courses directly match the curriculum for entry-level college courses.."(Clark, 2009) AP or IB test scores evaluate students who will be successful in college because these scores indicates the students who are well prepared for general courses in college since IB or AP courses corresponds with college curriculum. Knowing the academic demand of these rigorous courses are similar to college curriculum, it prepares students for college because they develop effective skills necessary for college such as critical thinking, research, effective studying skills, and many more.  Therefore, a student have a higher chance of graduating from college since she or he will more likely pass his or her general classes leading to the major courses.

Reference List

The following experts will be used as reliable resources for conducting research about AVID College Readiness. These authors or professionals had specialized on the field of college readiness.

Kim Clark
 Field of expertise: Paying for college; Financial Aid; Personal Finance

 Background: Clark had over 20 years of field experience as a veteran journalist specifically in the category of college financial aids. She had worked on how to efficiently expand college financial aid and had educated the public and the students about this topic through press conference, presentations, and through websites. In fact, one the site she had created, www. financialaidletter.com , had made her popular. Her career as a journalist began in Portland (Maine) Press Herald and soon became a reporter to the State House correspondent.  She also focused on the field of economics as she later experienced working as a business reporter in Baltimore and Sun.
Source: (http://www.usnews.com)


 Ramen Koopman
Field of expertise:  Ameri Corps member in Health Corps program at Sea Mar Community Health Center, South Seattle; attained degree in Mathematics and Biochemistry in 2012. 

Background: Former Avid student who was a first generation college graduate in his family. Koopmans appreciated how certain skills he had developed in AVID  as a high school student helped him in the long run most especially in college.  He encountered problems with education his since his mother did not speak English fluently and he argued that AVID gave him the opportunity to learn studying skills to solve these problems. From time management to binder organization, these skills helped him throughout his college career graduating with a cumulative GPA of 3.61.
Source:( http://avidcollegeready.org)


Deanna Mascle
Field of expertise: Morehead State College Readiness Coordinator,Teach writers, writing teachers, direct NWP site, run Writing Studio, Tech pedagogy ninja


Background: Had career experience in Morehead State College Readiness program as the lead to monitor and see the progression unprepared college students. From this point, she focus on the strength and weaknesses of programs to better support students success in college. She focuses on building confidence and readiness for students to adapt to the different environments and rules in college.


Source:  (http://metawriting.deannamascle.com/)

                                                               
Jessica Pliska
Field of expertise: Executive and Founder Director of The Opportunity Newyork, U.S. Director of Marketing for Mercer Delta Consulting, advisors to CEOs on organizational change, and part of Marsh & McLennan Companies.

Background:  She focused on programs that will economically benefit cities specifically the "I Have A Dream" Foundation. From her job experiences, she specialized in communication, marketing and made strategic programs to have successful project. Along with this, her B.A in political science contributed in these projects and even gave her a position on one of the boards of One To World Organization. This organization focused on offering international students to experience cultural and learning opportunities specifically in New York.


Source: (http://opportunitynetwork.org)


Ann M. Johns
Field of expertise:Professor Emerita of Linguistics & Writing Studies, San Diego State University (CA/USA)

Background: Dr, Johns bring learning, teaching, reading, and writing into multi-language version such as in Turkey, Lebanon, Mexico, France, Russia and many more. Her teachings are based on ESL theory, pedagogy and second language reading and writing. She had published books  such as Text, Role, and Context (1997) and Genre in the Classroom (2002) in which describe her experience with teaching multi-culture students. Her genre theory can also be observed in these books with  “Genre awareness for the novice academic student: An ongoing quest,” in Language Teaching. She continued her passion for teaching and helping students
even as she "retired from her position as professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies at San Diego State University."

Source: (http://english.cmu.edu)

David T. Conley
Field of expertise: Professor; Director, Center for Educational Policy Research

Background: Dr. Conley mostly concentrate on research college readiness specifically for college and high school. With his research, he analyse statistics that will determine students readiness for college and are actually used for bettering college readiness programs. "His findings have been published in numerous technical reports, conference papers, book chapters, and journals, such as Education Week, Educational Administration Quarterly, Educational Policy and Educational Leadership. Dr. Conley serves on numerous technical and advisory panels, including co-chairing the Common Core State Standards Validation "

Source: (https://education.uoregon.edu)