Survey shows fewer high school students pursuing college degrees

A survey by the Public Policy Institute of California shows more high school students are deciding not to pursue college degrees at a time when higher-educated workers in the state are in growing demand.

The PPIC survey shows only about 30 percent of 9th graders in high school will go on to earn a college degree.

Allan Hancock College student Ashleigh Simmons says she had no idea what she wanted to do when she graduated from high school.

“I feel like I wasn’t prepared in high school to know what I wanted to do”, Simmons said, “I feel like I didn’t get that preparation so definitely coming here is something that you need to do for that if you don’t know what you want to do.”

The PPIC survey examines college “pathways” in high schools, community colleges and the California State University, the largest public university system in the country.

The survey finds most students exit the pathway to a college degree in the last two years of high school or the first two years of college due in part to a lack of preparatory courses needed to qualify for admission to the CSU or the University of California.

“I had no idea what it took”, Ashleigh Simmons said, “I think Hancock (College) prepared me way more than high school would have, definitely why I came here first.”

“We all do this because we care”, said LeeAnne Del Rio with the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, “we are changing the odds and we have the data to show that we are.”

Del Rio works closely with SMJUHSD partner Allan Hancock College on programs designed to encourage and help students pursue a college degree as well as those students who choose to enter the workforce after graduating from high school by providing them with the skills they need to land a good paying job.

“We at the high school level are changing our classrooms into labs, because we know the students are obtaining real world skills, its not just theory, they’re actually obtaining skills”, Del Rio said, “being able to get certified and being able to do the jobs and say that they can bring this to these programs.”

The PPIC survey also shows fewer California high school students are pursuing college degrees due to a reluctance to take on student loan debt and to be closer to home to help with family financial issues.

“That’s a real problem”, Del Rio said, “Hancock is fixing it with their one year free (tuition), we’re working on it by offering free college courses while they are still in high school.”

“I’m absolutely optimistic because there’s a lot of things that we can change and do differently to serve these students and we’re doing it, we’re doing it little by little, everything we find, we are finding ways to make the change”, Del Rio said, “it does take time, sometimes its policy, sometimes its teacher summer pay to pay for these classes to be taught, sometimes its changing curriculum and having it all re-written and re-done to better fit what our students need.”

After three years at Allan Hancock College, Ashleigh Simmons is looking forward to transferring to a university to pursue a degree in sociology.

“Its kind of been a personal goal for me, not very many people in my family have gone to college”, Simmons said, “its kind of something that I’ ve kind of held important to myself.”

The PPIC survey points to math and science as among the most important subjects for those seeking college degrees both at the high school and community college level.

To read more about the PPIC survey go to: http://www.ppic.org/publication/improving-college-pathways-in-california.