Is High School Enough?

The US work force says that high schools are not preparing students for the workforce as well as the students who have attended college. Workers are concerned that the students are not learning the important skills needed in careers. Some of these skills include critical thinking, basic literacy and numeracy, and communication abilities. These skills are more important than the general talent that one person may have.

In a survey three out of four workers said that these steps would help improve the problem; Mandatory high school exit exams, yearly math and reading tests of third- through eighth-graders, mandatory internships for high school students, and business involvement in shaping the curriculum. Also in the survey workers were asked to grade high schools and colleges based on how well they prepare students for the work force. Out of the high schools only 5 percent of the people surveyed gave high schools an A, compared to 16 percent for colleges.

High school graduates, which add up to two thirds of the work force, are found to not be properly prepared for college, let alone the workforce. One factor in these numbers may be that out of the people surveyed forty-five percent said that the responsibility of preparing students for the work force belonged to the parents and not high schools and colleges. This can be true because students learn work ethic by watching how their parents act at work over the years, this can cause both positive and negative results.

I personally disagree with the information presented in the article because surveys are just the general idea of a group of people, if you were to survey a different group of people the results could come out completely different. I believe that I would be more likely to agree with the information if there was more information about the groups surveyed and if there were more than one survey to compare and contrast the results of the people. I think that high schools do a pretty good job preparing students for the work place and college because they have standards and required course work. If you fail to meet these standards than you are held back until you can meet the standards. I think that everyone has the opportunity to learn skills needed for the workforce it is just that some people choose not to use them or pay attention.