High School Students Deserve More Challenges

THE STAR’S VIEW: Studies show that high school students think their classes are too easy and they want something more. Boredom helps to drive students away.

High school students say they want more out of their four years in secondary education – more challenging classes, more hands-on experiences, more connection between school and the “real world” they’re about to be launched into. We must listen to them.

The American high school has come under scrutiny as communities try to juggle required standardized testing, high school exit exams, dropout rates and the perception that the four years don’t properly prepare students for work or college.

Almost 9 in 10 high school students polled in a new State of Our Nation’s Youth Survey from the Horatio Alger Association say that if their high school raised expectations and the amount of work required to graduate, they would rise to the challenge.

The study also found that 57 percent of students thought their school held them to only moderate expectations, and only one-third said they were “significantly” challenged in school.

There is likely an element of wishful thinking in these answers. Most people, high school students included, want to think that given the chance and the right push, they’d do better. Consider how many people buy gym memberships but rarely go.

But we shouldn’t dismiss what students are saying as merely good intentions. Locally, some schools are addressing the issue by creating smaller specialized academies within larger schools and others try to engage students with honors courses, vocational training and work-study programs.

Consider these words from Tucson students who answered a question about high school reform for the Opinion section’s Young Voices. Abby Nelson, an 18-year-old University of Arizona student, said her best high school class, Advanced Placement history, was difficult but far better than other classes. “In no other class did I learn more.” In other classes, “the structure was too simple and made little use of what students are truly capable of.”

Erin Gaines, 17, of Presidio High, said: “I thought any science class must be boring because I was a veteran of years of dull lectures and uninteresting facts. & This teacher changed my opinion of science. This course was completely hands-on, and you could tell the teacher loved teaching science.”

The most recent AIMS test scores improved dramatically over previous years. It’s not clear whether the increase came as a result of student effort, better focus at the schools or changes in the test and its scoring.

Modern high schools must educate all students and, in the age of standardized testing and high school exit exams, avoid a rush to the bottom. Schools are graded on how well their students perform. It’s easy to set the bar at the lowest rung and assume the interested students will get along because they’re good students.

Nothing kills motivation quicker than boredom. We’ve all been there, sitting in a class with a teacher droning on and on. Think back to your high school days – chances are, the teachers you remember best, those who were the most popular, were the teachers who challenged you.

The need to be challenged reaches beyond high school. A new Gallup Organization poll shows 55 percent of all U.S. employees are not engaged at work because they feel their talents and energies are being wasted.

A National Governors Association poll of students, including those who had dropped out, shows that students sometimes leave because their classes aren’t challenging enough. One-third of those who’d dropped out said they planned to enroll in community college in the future. Those students aren’t giving up on education, they’re giving up on high school.

– S.G.G.