Students Think That They Are Prepared For College, But Teachers Disagree

• The Deloitte 2010 Education Survey reveals that high school educators think students are unprepared for college coursework and believe access to data can help solve the problem. Slightly less than one-third (31%) of high school educators feel their students are ready for college when they leave high school, while more than two-thirds (68%) of current college students say they were “prepared” or “very prepared” for college coursework when looking back on their first year of higher education. Despite the student self confidence, the survey reveals that as many as 28% of students surveyed still needed to take remedial courses. In addition to uncovering this disconnect between student and teacher perceptions of college preparedness, Deloitte’s survey also reveals potential solutions for addressing the preparation gap. In particular, the survey found that educators think more data, such as official reports on their students’ performance in college, will significantly help them to adjust high school coursework. A staggering 92% of high school teachers feel they don’t have the data necessary to better understand students’ college preparation needs.