Educational Leadership

I’m not surprised because we see the behavioral patterns that start in lower education come into college: A student who has not been to class in high school on a regular basis is unlikely to attend her college classes with greater fervor.

But the sad, almost inevitable result is that the absent student will flunk out of college — attendance is one of the primary markers for success in the first year of college and for ultimate completion of the college degree.

Beyond not having the academic discipline of attending class, students who skip a lot of high school also lack essential knowledge and skills required for collegiate success. That sets them up for failure, a need to repeat courses or engage in remediation, and, invariably, lengthens their time to degree, which translates into more tuition costs and lost wages.

Many students wind up dropping out because the pressure to catch up is overwhelming.