Dive Brief:

• Whether high school graduates are prepared for college courses may hinge on the types of courses available to them in high school. 
• Data tracking tools can help keep students on the right path, and blended learning programs can tailor each student's needs to available courses.
• Recent reports have pointed to the fact that a third of graduates in Tennessee aren't taking the right courses, and that nearly 80% of New York City public school grads needed remediation in college.

Dive Insight:

The issue behind the readiness gap appears to lie in the types of course that students are taking while in high school. A focus on standardized testing, which puts emphasis on math and ELA skills, can shortchange students when it comes to subjects such as foreign language and social studies, which are more condensed and rigorous at the higher education level. 

Blended learning programs are seeing some success at getting more students college ready by tailoring the pace and content of material to the student, allowing them to work with instructors to locate their own skill gaps and begin addressing them before graduation. Other schools have put their focus on asking students to take higher-level courses before college, such as AP courses, which can provide course credit for students, but more importantly teaches them valuable note-taking and coping skills for the college environment.