So much for the theory that today's teenagers are overworked:
A large majority of high school students say their class work is not very difficult, and almost two-thirds say they would work harder if courses were more demanding or interesting, according to an online nationwide survey of teenagers conducted by the National Governors Association.The survey, being released on Saturday by the association, also found that fewer than two-thirds believe that their school had done a good job challenging them academically or preparing them for college. About the same number of students said their senior year would be more meaningful if they could take courses related to the jobs they wanted or if some of their courses could be counted toward college credit.
Taken together, the electronic responses of 10,378 teenagers painted a somber picture of how students rate the effectiveness of their schools in preparing them for the future.
Educators are quoted as being surprised, but I'm not. Sure, today's high-schoolers are fed up with all the testing, but they can tell when tests - and the curriculum - are dumbed down. They've heard all the horror stories about remedial coursework in college. They know how difficult it can be to find a good job. And they're worried.
Posted by kswygert at July 18, 2005 04:55 PM