No, they're not ready for college

Those aren't school bells you hear.

They're alarms.

A recent report from nonprofit ACT, "The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2012," illustrates such a gulf between where our high school graduates are and where they should be academically that alarms should be clanging from sea to shining sea.

The report shows that at least 60 percent of likely college-bound, 2012 U.S. high school graduates are at risk of failing in their academic and career pursuits.

The study focuses on scores of the ACT college and career readiness exam, and is based on no small sampling: The test was taken by more than half of the entire 2012 graduating class of American high school students.

According to the report, 28 percent of all ACT-tested graduates did not meet any of the four ACT college readiness benchmarks in English, mathematics, reading and science. That means these students are likely to struggle in all four of those subject areas, ACT officials said.

Another 15 percent of test-takers met one of the four benchmarks; 17 percent met just two. Only 25 percent met all four ACT benchmarks.

"Far too many high school graduates are still falling short academically," said ACT Chief Executive Officer Jon Whitmore. "We need to do more to ensure that our young people improve. The advanced global economy requires American students to perform at their highest level to compete in the future job market and maintain the long-term economic security of the U.S."

The challenge doesn't stop there, either. According to the study, there's a big gap between students' career interests and projected job openings.

In each case, the study says, the percentage of ACT-tested graduates interested in the five fastest growing fields - education, computer/information specialties, community services, management, and marketing/sales - was less than the projected demand for workers in those fields.

ACT officials and many educators agree that one of the best ways to address these shortcomings is to more closely monitor students' academic achievement and intervene promptly when expectations aren't being met. Much more work needs to be done, too, to get students pointed toward and actively pursuing longer-range goals, including career possibilities, at an earlier stage of their education. Fortunately, many states, including Idaho, are diving into these challenges head-first.

If families of students take these challenges just as seriously, then perhaps our nation's economic security will be assured.