Infopri and others:
My daughter just finished her BS at a private brick and mortar. She was amazed that the University required a "study skills" class for freshman. I guess the high school exit standards are lowering for students entering higher ed. with respect to reading, writing, and even organizing? Sad..... What happened to the ACT and SAT exams?
I could say, however, that my daughter was "ready" as opposed to others. We "homeschooled" her. She landed 3 separate scholarships that gave her a full ride, graduating summa cum laude--top 1 percent. Not the norm? What do we do about the incoming freshman without the skills? Is homeschool the answer?
I don't work in K-12, so I can't address what's going on in K-12 districts or in our students' homes that might account for what I'm seeing in the classroom. It sounds as though homeschooling was a good choice for your daughter (congratulations on her accomplishments!), but that's not a perfect answer either, as in many cases it does not work well, for a variety of reasons.
I do have some private theories about how students' priorities have changed, as well as the culture in which they are growing up, in ways that might affect both their study skills (and writing skills) and their motivation to learn, but these are just my own hunches, with no research to back them up. I'm sure there is research out there, though, if anyone who works or does research in the K-12 field wants to jump in and tell us about it.
