Is Idaho really ready for college?

We’re No. 5!

We’re No. 5!

Got that out of our system. Now then: What, exactly, does ranking No. 5 in U.S. News & World Reports’ college preparedness assessment actually mean to Idaho?

Probably not much.

Idaho’s glowing report card loses a little luster when you realize that its ranking isn’t so strong as it is less weak than most other states. The study looked at high school seniors’ college entrance exam results and found that just over half of Idahoans did well enough to project as at least mediocre college students. (The formula is this: Three quarters of the “successful” test takers should make a “C” or better in similar college classes.)

Further, The Press has published a number of articles over recent years about the need for so many Idaho students to enroll in remedial classes at the college level because they lacked basic proficiency coming out of high school. According to data provided by Dr. Larry Briggs at North Idaho College, more than half of students enrolling in U.S. higher education take one or more developmental or remedial courses.

So what does it all mean? We asked Rod Gramer, president and CEO of Idaho Business for Education, for his take on Idaho’s esteemed college preparedness ranking. Gramer is, after all, wholly concerned with Idaho students getting the best education and training possible for the job needs of today and tomorrow — which should be a big part of the education strategy, right?

Gramer warned that the subject is far more complicated than a news magazine could begin to grasp. For instance, he noted that Idaho is one of few states where all high school juniors take either the ACT or SAT, regardless of their intention to attend or skip college. Right off the bat, Idaho is handicapped by its all-encompassing participation, and the exercise of a national, state-by-state comparison is rendered ridiculous.

Gramer pointed out that what does seem valid is that only a third, roughly, of Idaho’s students hit the benchmarks that predict a student is likely to get a passing grade in key areas of study.

“We need far more of our students to be college ready in math and reading if we are ever to get more students to successfully get a postsecondary credential that prepares them to be successful in school, work and life,” Gramer wrote in an email to The Press. “But we are all in this together. All of us — parents, policymakers, educators — can do more to ensure that all of our students are prepared to succeed in postsecondary so they can get the education they need for a good career.”

Dr. Charles Buck, head of University of Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene campus, stressed the positive in what he sees, even if Idaho test scores leave something to be desired.

“I continue to be impressed with the caliber of kids who do come to university,” he said in an email. “I would say that by and large, our university faculty are impressed with the knowledge base of incoming Idaho freshmen.”

So let’s agree that there’s room to grow — and that it’s everybody’s job to prepare our students for a future that looks challenging, if not downright daunting.