High school is a very important step for all college students, where students learn the essential building blocks of how to become well prepared for college. Arguably the most important skill to have is the ability to write strong essays and formal papers, which is an ability that will be used not only in college, but also for future job opportunities and internships.

However, are students really being prepared well for the endless assault of papers that they will face in college? In a word: “No”. High school students are not being prepared enough for college or the real world. Instead, students are only being instructed how to do well on the ACT, SAT and other standardized tests, not how to craft strong papers.

An article on The Hechinger Report has stated that ACT scores have dropped to their lowest average composite scores in almost eight years, 20.9. This is different from a year earlier, as the average composite score was a 21.1. This forced the ACT to change its benchmarks in its reading (up one point to 22) and science (down one point to 23) sections in order to meet more accurate expectations for performance in college. Even so, only 26 percent of all students were able to meet the benchmarks in all four categories of the ACT.

Even more importantly, there is a flaw to altering the benchmarks to a section in the ACT. If a section were to be lowered, there would be the issue of students being even less prepared for college. Colleges do not change their entire curriculum. If the ACT lowers its benchmarks for testing, it will decrease the likelihood of a high school student being truly prepared for college.

Jaime Bochantin, a DePaul communications professor, gives her thoughts on this topic. “I completely agree that High School does not prepare students enough for college,” she said. “Public schools are failing at (teaching students to adapt to college) and it’s a huge disservice to the students.”

Ultimately, even though a high school student may be fully eligible to attend college, they may not be able to keep up with the vigor of their coursework. A study on highereducation.org stated that almost 60 percent of high school students who attend a four year college need to take remedial classes – many of which do not count for credit – or seek more help in subjects that are extremely difficult to them. High schools’ narrow focus on standardized test success leaves many students bereft of even some of the basic knowledge that is expected.

It is important that high schools focus more on giving students valuable skills for success in college rather than focus on standardized tests. While the ACT and SAT can measure how much someone knows about a subject, it does not really tell students if they are ready for college or not. I feel that this has become a serious issue for many high schools.

In order to actually prepare students for college, teachers should focus more on giving skills that prepare students for college instead of merely teaching them how to do well on standardized testing.