In Retrospect: What College Undergraduates Say about Their High School Education

Author(s): Gail L. Thompson and Marilyn Joshua-Shearer

Source: The High School Journal, Vol. 85, No. 3 (Feb. - Mar., 2002), pp. 1-15
Published by: University of North Carolina Press
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 This articlepresentstheresultsofa studyin
which universitystudentswere questioned
about theirhigh school experiences.Major
findingsinclude (1) Thereis a greatneed to
improvethequalityofinstruction thatstudents
receivein math,science,criticalthinking,and
studyskills;(2) Hispanic and AfricanAmeri-
can studentsbelievethatthereis a need for
greateraccess to collegepreparatory courses;
and (3) Race/ethnicityand culturehavea great
impacton students'schoolingexperiences and
In Retrospect:WhatCollege thevalue thattheyplace on different aspects
oftheirschooling.Implicationsforeducators
UndergraduatesSay AboutTheir and policymakersare discussed.
HighSchool Education
Introduction
Gail L. Thompson Althoughtheyare oftenunderrespected, un-
The Claremont GraduateUniversity derpaid, and underappreciated (Ingersoll
1999),teachersfulfillone ofsociety'smostim-
MarilynJoshua-Shearer portantrolesbecause theyare entrusted with
CaliforniaStateUniversity-Northridgepreparingstudentsforthe workforceor for
college.A plethoraofresearchregarding teach-
ing and instructionalpractices exists.A recur-
ring theme is that there is a link between
teacherefficacyandstudents'skillsandknowl-
edge base. Well-preparedteachers,such as
thosewho majoredor minoredin thesubject
thattheyteach,tendtoprovidebetterinstruc-
tion to their students (Wenglinsky2000).
Underpreparedteachers,such as those who
majoredin Education,insteadofa morespe-
cialized subject,likemathor science,tendto
providea lowerqualityof instruction (Drew
1996).Thompson(2000)reportedthatthema-
jorityof the teacherswho participatedin a
studythatsheconductedsaidthatmostoftheir
students werereadingbelowgradelevel.Atthe
same time,nearly60 percentof the teachers
said thattheydid notreceiveadequatetrain-
ing to teach reading.Moreover,studentsof
coloraremorelikelythanstudentsfrommain-
streambackgroundsto have underprepared
teachers(QualityCounts2000; Wilson1996).
One possiblerelatedoutcomeis thatAfrican
American, Hispanic,and NativeAmericanstu-
dentsnationwidehave lowermath,science,
and readingtestscoresthanWhitesorAsians
(NationalCenterforEducationStatistics 1999).
(1999)reported
Ingersoll teach-
thatout-of-field
ofNorthCarolinaPress
© 2002 The University
1
 - Apr/May2002
The HighSchoolJournal

ingoccursin morethanhalfofthesecondary ingwhatto teach,(2) knowinghow to teach,

schoolsin theUnitedStatesand overfourmil- and (3) knowingwhich methodto use with
lion secondarystudentsare taughtby such particulartopics,students,and settings(34).
teacherseach year.He foundthatnearlyone The converseis trueof ineffective teachers.
thirdof secondaryteacherswho teachmath, Theseteacherstendtohavelow expectations,
one fourth ofsecondaryEnglishteachers,and (Delpit1995;Lindholm
a lowlevelofinstruction
ofsecondaryscienceteachersdid not
one fifth 1992), believe that certain students are
majoror minorin the subjectthattheywere cognitively (Delpit,1995;Flores,Tefft-
deficient
teaching,nordid theymajororminorin a re- Cousin& Diaz 1991),createa competitive ver-
latedsubject.Ingersollalso revealedthathigh sus cooperativeclassroomclimate,andblame
povertyschools, small schools, and private thestudents andtheirparentsforteachers'lack
schoolsweremorelikelythanlargeror afflu- ofsuccesswiththesestudents.
entschoolsto have teacherswho wereteach-
Ruddell (1999) foundthatduringtheirK- 12
ing out-of-field.Withinthe same schools, schoolingyears,"highachievershave an av-
studentsin honors,AdvancedPlacement,and
classeswerelesslikelythan erage of 3.2 influentialteachers,while low
CollegePreparatory achievershave only 1.5 such teachers"(4).
otherstobe taught byteacherswhowereteach- Ruddellcompileda listofcharacteristics that
ing outoftheir field.Furthermore,juniorhigh were associated with influentialteachers.
ormiddleschoolstudents weremorelikelythan weresensitivityto
Amongthesecharacteristics
highschool studentsto have underprepared "individualneeds,motivations, and aptitudes,
teachers.Ingersolllisteda numberofnegative
understandswherestudents'are,'and places
consequencesofout-of-field teachingthataf-
fectbothteachersand students. highdemandson learners"(5).
In additiontothenegativeeffects ofout-of-field Although
thereis a substantialbodyoflitera-
tureregarding whatconstitutes goodteaching,
teachingon studentachievement, researchers
and how schoolscan be improved,thereis a
haveidentified otherfactorsthataffectstudent
need forstudentsthemselvesto enter
achievement. The resultis a cleardelineation greater
thediscussion(Faltiset al. 1992; Nieto2000;
betweenthe qualities,attitudes,and instruc- articleseeksto
The current
tionalpracticesofeffective versusthoseofin- Thompson2000).
additionalinsights
offer thatmightimprovethe
effectiveteachers.Effectiveteachershavehigh
ofeducationthatstudentsreceiveby
(Foster& Peele 1999;Hale 1986;Lucas,Henze quality feedback
& Donato1995;Nieto2000) and clearexpecta- eliciting
fromcollegestudents regard-
ingtheirhigh school experiences.The follow-
tions,model whattheywant studentsto do,
ingquestionswillbe addressed:(1) Whowere
upgradetheirskillsand knowledgebase con- thestudents' besthighschoolteachers? (2) Who
tinuously, use multiplestrategies to makethe
weretheirworsthighschoolteachers?(3) How
contentcomprehensible toall students,believe
didstudents ratethequalityoftheirhighschool
thatall studentscan learn,and theyutilizean
additiveversusdeficitpedagogy.
instruction?(4) Whichhighschoolcourseswere
Additionally, most difficultforstudents?(5) Which high
teachers whoareeffective withstudents ofcolor
school courses were easiest? (6) Werethere
show themthattheycare aboutthem(Foster
correlationsbetweenhowstudents werefaring
& Peele 1999),makethecurriculum culturally at theuniversityand thecourses
relevant(Au 1993;Delpit1995;Kunjufu1986; academically
thatwereeasiestormostdifficult forthemin
Ladson-Billings 1994),respectstudents' linguis- do
tic codes (Darder1991; Delpit 1995),createa high school? (7) Whatrecommendations
studentssuggestto teachersin orderto better
cooperativeversuscompetitive classroomcli-
mate(Coiner& Poussaint1992;Foster& Peele preparethemforcollege?
1999;Hale 1986),createstructure and empha- Method
size discipline(Foster& Peele 1999),andbuild
AbouttheParticipants in theStudy
on students'priorknowledgeand skills(Roe Background
Data were collectedfrom 156 students who
et al. 1998; Ruddell 1999). Ingersoll(1999)
were enrolledin a comprehensivefour-year
surmisedthatgoodteachingrequires(1) know-
2
 In Retrospect:
WhatCollegeUndergraduates
Say

university in southern California.The students included (Kerlinger1986) and the question-

a in
completed questionnaire sociologyclass
a naire's lengthalso contributedto reliability
thatis requiredforall undergraduates. All stu- (Judd et al. 1991). Validity was ensured
dentswho werein class on thedaywhenthe throughfield testingthe instrument.Uni-
questionnaire was distributed had theoption variateand bivariatestatisticswere used to
ofchoosingto completethe questionnaireor analyzethedata.
declining todo so. Sixty-two percentofthestu- Percent
dentschoseto participate in thestudy. Race/Ethnicity
Hispanic 23.0
Nearly88 percentofthestudentswho partici-
patedinthestudywerebornintheUnitedStates NativeAmerican 0.6
and themajority had attendedpublicelemen-
White/Anglo 47.0
tary,middle, and highschools in California.
Eighty-one percentsaidthattheyspokeEnglish Asian 3.0
fluently when theystartedelementary school.
PacificIslander 0.6
Femalescomprised74 percentofthesample.
Ninety-four percentofthe studentswere en- African 1.0
rolledin the university on a full-time basis.
AfricanAmerican 15.0
60
Nearly percent were juniors and nearly30
percentwereseniors(See Table 1). White stu- Other 6.0
for
dentsaccounted almost halfof thesample no answer 3.0
(See Table 11). Sixtythree percentofthe stu-
dents ranged in age from20-25 years old. Total 99.2
Twenty-three percentwere31yearsold orolder.
Table II: Race/Ethnicity
ofParticipants
Level Percent
sophomore 12.0 Results
junior 57.0 BestHighSchool Teachers
senior 28.0 Fifty-twopercentofthestudentssaid thatthey
had morethanone "best"highschoolteacher.
no answer 3.0 Morethanhalfsaid thata highschoolEnglish
Total 100.0 teacherwas theirbest teacher.Math,foreign
language,andhistory teachersfollowedas best
Table 1: Students'UniversityLevel teachers.
Nearly twice as manystudentscited
an Englishteacheras theirbest,however,than
studentswhociteda mathteacher.Therewere
Thirty-eightpercentofthe studentssaid that also differencesin how thethreemajorracial/
theyhad utilizedtutorialservicesat theuni- ethnicgroupsselectedbest teachers.For ex-
versity.African-Americans were overrepre- ample,African Americans werelesslikelythan
sentedamongthosewho utilizedtutoring (in Whitesor Hispanicsto selecta mathteacher
that65 percentsaid thattheyhad utilizedtu- as theirbest.Second,whereastheoverwhelm-
torialservices)and amongthosewho had less ingmajority ofWhitescitedan Englishteacher
Morethan as theirbest,smallerpercentages
thana 3.0collegegradepointaverage. ofHispanics
60 percentofthestudentswho needed tutor- and AfricanAmericansdid so. Additionally,
ingneededit in math. whereasno AfricanAmericanstudentscited
The Questionnaire a science teacheras theirbest, one fifthof
The questionnaireconsistedof 58 questions Whites did so and an even higherpercentage
and a sectionforadditionalcomments(See ofHispanicsdid.Furthermore, a muchsmaller
numerous percentage ofAfrican Americans thanWhites
AppendixA). To increasereliability,
orHispanics selecteda historyteacheras their
questionsaboutthedependentvariableswere
best highschool teacher.AfricanAmericans
3
The HighSchoolJournal-Apr/May2002

werealso less likelythanWhitesorHispanics thecurrent who onlyidentified

study, one,ver-
toselecta foreignlanguageteacheras theirbest susmorethanone,worstteacher(See TableIV).
(See TableIII). EasiestHighSchool Coursesand Subjects
WorstHighSchool Teachers When asked to identify their easiest high
Thirty-one percentof the studentssaid that school course or subject,56 percentofthe stu-
theyhad more thanone "worst"highschool dents cited more than one course. No course
teacher.Mathand scienceteacherswerecited was cited by the majorityof students as the
as worstteachersmorefrequentlythanothers. easiest,however,nearly40 percentsaid thatan
Hispanics were more likelythan Whitesor Englishcourse was theeasiest,followedbyP.E.
AfricanAmericanstocitea mathoran English Regarding their easiest core or required aca-
teacheras theirworst. demic subjects, African Americans were the
least likely of the three major racial/ethnic
Conversely,Hispanics were less likelythan to cite math, science, or a foreignlan-
WhitesorAfrican Americans a gov- groups
to identify
as their easiest course. Hispanics were
ernment Ameri- guage
teacheras theirworst.African
more likelythan Whites or AfricanAmericans
cansweremorelikelythanWhitesorHispanics
to cite Government,as easiest and least likely
to citea Historyteacher.WhereasbothWhites
of the threegroups to cite English (See Table
and Hispanicscitedforeign languageteachers V).
amongtheirworst, noAfricanAmericans didso.
Moreover,AfricanAmericanswere the only Most DifficultHigh School Courses and Sub-
groupsin
groupofthethreemajorracial/ethnic jects
Forty-fourpercent of the students identified

Subject Math Engl. Science Gov. Hist. P.E. Busn Shop DrvEdFrnLngMusic Other
Stu Type

TotalSample 27 51 18 19 24 10 3 3 8 26 10 3
Whites 33 67 20 15 32 9 4 3 8 35 11 3

Hispanics 31 47 33 28 28 19 3 8 17 25 8 0
AfricanAms. 22 44 0 30 9 9 0 0 0 17 13 9
N=156
Note: Totals may exceed 100 percentbecause many studentsselected multiple answers.

Table III: BestHighSchool Teachers

Subject Math Engl. Science Gov. Hist. P.E. Busn Shop DrvEdFrnLngMusic Other

StuType
TotalSample 28 15 28 12 15 8 3 0 3 14 0 1
Whites 29 15 34 18 17 8 4 0 5 23 1 0

Hispanics 42 22 31 3 17 11 3 8 3 11 0 0
AfricanAms. 22 13 26 17 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
N=156
Note: Totals may exceed 100 percentbecause many studentsselected multiple answers.

Table IV: WorstHighSchool Teachers

4
 In Retrospect:
morethanone highschool course/subject as
theirmostdifficult.Morethanhalfsaid that
mathwas theirmostdifficult highschoolsub-
A
ject. higherpercentage ofAfrican Americans
and WhitesthanHispanics said thata math
coursewas theirmost difficult.However,a
highpercentage ofstudentsin all threeofthe
groupsin thisstudyindi-
largestracial/ethnic
catedthatmathwas problematic forthem.Sci-
ence was the second most frequentlycited
mostdifficult academicsubjectand a higher
percentageofHispanicsthanWhitesor Afri-
can Americanscitedit.Foreignlanguagewas
third,but Hispanics were less likely than
Whitesor AfricanAmericansto identify it as
theirmostdifficultsubject.A higherpercent-
ageofWhitesthanHispanicsorAfrican Ameri-
cans citedhistoryas theirmostdifficult high
schoolsubject(See TableVI).
WhatCollegeUndergraduates
Say
How StudentsRatedtheQualityofTheirHigh
SchoolInstruction
Morethan60 percentofthestudentsratedthe
overallqualityofinstructionprovidedbymost
of theirhigh school teachersas "good" and
onlytwopercentrateditas poor.Ratingswere
linkedtothestudents'academictracksin that
those who were in highertrackswere more
likelyto ratethequalityofinstruction as high
(r=.51;p<.001). TableVII providesmoreinfor-
mationaboutthestudents'ratings.Hispanics
were more likely than Whites or African
Americansto rate the quality of theirhigh
school instructionas fairand less likelythan
Whitesor AfricanAmericansto rateit as ex-
cellent.Conversely, AfricanAmericanswere
morelikelythanWhitesorHispanicstoassign
a good or excellentratingto theoverallqual-
ityofinstruction oftheirhighschool courses
(See TableVII).

Subject Math Engl. Science Gov Hist. RE. Busn Shop DrvEd FrnLngMusic Other

StuType

TotalSample 17 39 12 17 25 33 8 3 21 22 19 8

Whites 22 48 17 17 27 39 6 0 24 24 28 9

Hispanics 22 31 14 25 31 44 17 11 25 36 14 6
AfricanAms. 4 52 4 17 30 17 4 4 17 9 13 13

N=156
Note: Totals may exceed 100 percent because many students selected multiple answers.

TableV: EasiestHighSchool Course/Subject

Subject Math Engl. Science Gov. Hist. RE. Busn Shop DrvEd FrnLngMusic Other

StuType
TotalSample 52 17 31 14 13 3 1 0 0 25 0 5
Whites 62 17 33 17 20 4 1 0 0 34 0 6
Hispanics 47 25 47 14 8 3 3 0 0 14 0 3
AfricanAms.65 17 22 13 4 0 0 0 0 30 0 4
N=156
Note:Totalsmayexceed 100 percentbecause manystudentsselectedmultipleanswers.

HighSchool Course/Subject
TableVI: MostDifficult
5
 - Apr/May2002
The HighSchoolJournal

teristicsby a substantialpercentageof stu-

Poor Fair Good Excellent dents.Moreover,a higherpercentageof stu-
TotalSample 2 22 62 11 dentsselectedhumorand makes the course
workinteresting strict-
insteadofintelligence,
Whites 1 17 65 14 ness,orniceness.A low percentage ofstudents
0 41 54 6 said thatgivingrewardsis an important qual-
Hispanics was theleast
itybutgivinglots ofhomework
AfricanAms. 0 9 73 18 tothemajority
characteristic
significant ofstu-
N=156 dents(See TableIX).
Responses also varied amongracial/ethnic
Table VII: How StudentsRatedtheQuality groups.The fourmostfrequently-cited quali-
ofInstructionProvidedbyTheirHigh tiesthatHispanicsselectedwereexplainsthings
School Teachers well,patience,friendliness,and makes the
courseworkrelevant.The fourcharacteristics
QualitiesofOutstanding Teachers thathalformorethanhalfoftheAfrican Ameri-
When asked to identifythe mostimportant cans selectedwere explains thingswell,pa-
qualitiesofoutstanding teachers,studentsse- tience,enthusiasm, andfairness.Themajority
lectednumerouscharacteristics. Tenqualities ofWhitesalso selectedexplainsthingswell,
werecitedbynearlyhalformorethanhalfof patience,enthusiasm, andfairnessas thefour
the students(See Table VIII). Eightypercent mostimportant qualities,butforeach quality
said thatoutstanding teachersexplainthings thepercentageofWhitesfarexceededthatof
well.Seventy-one percentsaid thatoutstand- African Americanswhoselectedthesamequal-
ingteachersarepatient.Morethan60 percent ity.Furthermore, AfricanAmericanstudents
said thatoutstanding teachersare enthusias- were less likelythanWhitesor Hispanicsto
tic.Fairness,makingthecourseworkrelevant selectfriendlinessorhumoras important char-
to students'lives,makingcourse workchal- acteristicsofoutstanding Whiteswere
teachers.
lenging,providing extrahelp,andfriendliness morelikelythanAfrican Americans orHispan-
werealso consideredto be important charac- ics to selectmakesthecourseworkinteresting

Quality TotalSample Whites Hispanics AfricanAms.

ExplainsThingsWell 80 96 72 78
Patience 71 86 67 74
Enthusiasm 64 86 50 57
Fairness 58 73 39 52
MakesCrswkRelevant 53 58 56 44
MakesCrswkChallenging 52 56 44 44
GivesExtraHelp 51 47 50 48
Friendliness 50 58 58 39
Humor 49 63 47 39
MakesCrswkInteresting 46 58 36 35
N=156
Note:Totalsmayexceed 100 percentbecause manystudentsselectedmultipleanswers.

Table VIII: The 10 Most-Frequently

CitedQualitiesofOutstanding
Teachers

6
 In Retrospect:
WhatCollegeUndergraduates
Say

as an importantcharacteristic.Moreover,a however,permitall studentsto take college

greater ofWhitesthanHispanicsor
percentage
African Americansselectedhumorand makes
thecourseworkchallenging as importantquali-
ties.Amongthe less-citedqualities,a higher
percentageofWhitesthanHispanicsor Afri-
canAmericansselectedintelligenceand strict-
ness. A lowerpercentageofHispanicschose
givesrewardsand a higherpercentage ofAfri-
can Americanschoseniceness.
Students'Recommendations to Teachers
Whenaskedhowthepublicschoolsystemcan
betterpreparestudents forcollege,thestudents
madea numberofrecommendations. Twosug-
gestions,teach better critical thinkingskills
and teach better studyskills, were recom-
mendedby nearly60 percentofthestudents.
Nearlyhalfofthestudents saidthatmorecoun-
selingaboutcollegeand morewriting practice
are needed.Bettermathpreparation, permit-
tingall studentsto take collegepreparatory
courses,and increasingparentinvolvement
werealso suggestedby a substantialnumber
ofstudents(See TableX).
The percentage ofstudentswho selectedeach
recommendationalso varied amongracial/
ethnicgroups.Whereasthemajority ofWhites
selectedteachbetter criticalthinking skillsand
teachbetterstudyskills, as well as providemore
counseling about college, and offermorewrit-
ingpractice as theirmost-frequently citedrec-
ommendations, Hispanics and African
Americans selected permit all students totake
collegepreparatory classes as theirmost fre-
quently-cited recommendation. For Whites,
preparatoryclasses was the fourthmost-fre-
quentlycitedrecommendation. Additionally,
a greater
percentageofWhitesthanHispanics
orAfricanAmericansrecommended thatpar-
entinvolvement be increased.
A numberofothersuggestionswerecitedby
smallerpercentages ofstudents(See TableXI).
Although students in each ofthethreemajor
racial/ethnicgroupsrecommendedthatthe
qualityof collegepreparatory classes be im-
proved,higherpercentages Hispanicsand
of
WhitesthanAfricanAmericansdid so. Whites
werealso morelikelyto recommendthatbet-
terteachersbe hired.AfricanAmericanswere
leastlikelytorecommend morehomework and
morereadingass igninents.
Discussion
The resultsofthecurrentstudyindicatethat
manyofthestudentshad positivehighschool
experiencesand feltthattheoverallqualityof
instruction thattheyreceivedwas good.How-
ever,the findingsindicatethat(1) Thereis a
need forimprovement in areas,such as math,
science,teachingstudents bettercriticalthink-
ing,study skills,and writingskills,providing
morecounselingaboutcollege,increasing par-
entinvolvement, and increasingaccess to col-
legepreparatory classes;(2) Someracial/ethnic
groups have had qualitatively differentschool-
ing experiences, and (3) racial/ethnicgroups
appearto place different value on certainas-
pectsoftheirschoolingorto perceiveschool-
ingexperiencesquitedifferently.

Quality TotalSample Whites Hispanics AfricanAms.

Intelligence 40 46 42 35
Strictness 28 41 28 22
GivesRewards 22 27 17 22
Niceness 19 27 25 30
GivesLotsofHomwrk 7 8 11 7
N = 156
Note:Totalsmayexceed100 percentbecause manystudentsselectedmultipleanswers.

Teachers
CitedQualitiesofOutstanding
Table IX: The Five Less-Frequently
7
The HighSchoolJournal-Apr/May2002

Thecharacteristics ofoutstandingteachersthat qualitiesofoutstanding a logicalcon-

teachers,
students identified
as mostand leastimportant clusionis thatEnglishteacherswereconsid-
yieldsomeusefulinsightsthatmightbe ben- ered among the best high school teachers
eficialtoeducators.Sixofthe10mostfrequently because theymetthesecriteriaas well as oth-
cited characteristics(patience,enthusiasm, ersthatweredeemedimportant bythemajor-
fairness,gives extrahelp, friendliness,and ityofstudents.
humor)deal morewiththe teacher'sperson-
alitythanhis/herpedagogy.In otherwords,it Conversely, by in large,thehighschoolmath
teachersappearedtobe unsuccessful withmany
appearsthatthequalitiesthatstudentsvalue students.Inadditiontothefactthata substantial
most,cannot be taughtin teachertraining
coursesand individualswithcertainperson- percentageofthecollegestudents,especially
alities are morelikelyto be successfulwith AfricanAmericanstudents,said thatthey
studentsthanothers.Because thesequalities needed mathtutoring at theuniversity level,
werestressedas beingimportant the studentsalso expressedsome discontent
to manystu-
regarding thequalityoftheirhighschoolmath
dents,teacherpreparationinstitutionsmustfind
andscienceinstruction. Forexample,mathand
waystobringthisinformation totheattention
scienceteacherswerecitedas worstteachers
ofprospective teachersso thattheycan under-
standtherolesplayedbypersonality morefrequently thanothers.Second,thema-
typesand
traitsinteachereffectiveness.
Furthermore, thejorityofstudentssaidthatmathwas theirmost
resultsof the studysuggestthatteachersin difficulthighschool subjectand sciencewas
certainsubjects,suchas Englishllanguage thesecondmostfrequently citedmostdifficult
arts,
academicsubject.Moreover,
are morelikelyto have theaffective providestudents
qualities
withbettermathpreparation wasrecommended
thatstudentsvalue morethanotherteachers.
by 43 percentofthetotalsampleofstudents
ThehighschoolEnglishteachers ofthestudents and 50 percentofHispanics,as a way to bet-
in thecurrentstudyappearedtobe successful terpreparestudents forcollege.Ironically,
a low
withmoststudents.Forexample,Englishwas percentageof AfricanAmericanschose this
selectedbya higherpercentofstudentsas their recommendation, eventhoughAfrican Ameri-
easiestcourseandthemajority ofstudentssaid canswerethemostlikelyofthegroupstoneed
thatan Englishteacherwas theirbest high mathtutoring at theuniversity level.
school teacher.Because the overwhelming
Usingthecriteria
majorityof studentsselectedexplainsthings most
thatstudentsidentifiedas the
important of
qualities outstanding teach-
well,patience,and enthusiasmas thethreetop

Suggestion TotalSample Whites Hispanics AfricanAms.

BetterCrit.Thinking
Skills 56 63 47 30
BetterStudySkills 56 63 58 35
MoreCounselingAboutCollege 49 63 58 35
MoreWriting Practice 48 63 50 44
Allow all Studentsto TakeCP Courses 46 56 67 48
BetterMathPreparation 43 60 50 22
IncreaseParentInvolvement 42 62 44 30
N = 156
Note:Totalsmayexceed 100 percentbecause manystudentsselectedmultipleanswers.

Table X: The Seven Most-Frequently

CitedRecommendations
fromStudents
8
 In Retrospect:
WhatCollegeUndergraduates
Say

ers,it can be hypothesized thatmanyoftheir 2000; and Oakes 1999). A clearmessagefrom

highschoolmathand scienceteachersfailed Hispanicsand African Americanswhopartici-
to meetthese criteria.Perhapstheydid not pated in the currentstudyis thatstudentsof
explainthings well,wereimpatient,andlacked colornotonlywantaccess to thehigherlevel
enthusiasmabouttheirsubjectmatter.Given tracksforthemselves, butforall students.
thepreponderance ofresearchindicatingthat
Another important
findingis thatrace/ethnicity
manysecondary schoolmathandscienceteach-
and/orcultureappearsto be a factorin how
ersareunderqualified to teachthesesubjects
studentsviewtheirschoolingexperiencesand
(Drew 1996; Ingersoll 1999), teacher thevalue thattheyplace on certainaspectsof
underpreparedness mightalso explain why
mathand sciencewereproblematic formany schooling.This suggeststhattherecontinues
to be a need foreducatorsto receivecultural
students.
awarenessand diversity training (Delpit1995;
Another important findingthatsurfaced is that Fosterand Peele 1999; Nieto 2000) through
of
theresponses Hispanics and African Ameri- inservicesand workshops.Wenglinsky (2000)
canssuggestthataccesstocollegepreparatory foundthatwhenmathteachersreceivedpro-
coursesconcerns them.Burdinan's study(2000) fessionaldevelopment trainingtoimprove their
and theAmericanCivilLibertiesUnion'slaw- efficacy with"special needs" students,these
suitagainstthestateofCaliforniaon behalfof students'mathskillsimproveddrastically. In
Hispanicand AfricanAmericanhighschool orderto improvestudents'scores,skills,and
students whohavebeensystematically denied achievementlevels,and therebytheirprepa-
accesstoAP courses(Dupuis1999),addvalidity rationforcollege,all educatorscould benefit
tothestudents'recommendation. Becausethe fromongoingculturalawarenessand diversity
students suggested thatonewaythateducators training.
canbetter preparestudentsforcollegeis togrant
Conclusion
accesstocollegepreparatory
all students classes, The current studycan provideeducatorswith
the implicationis thateducatorsand policy
crucialfeedbackfromstudents.Ifused wisely,
makersshould reexaminethe public school
thisfeedbackcan empowereducators,policy
system's oftracking
tradition students.Foryears,
researchershave that is makers,and teachertraininginstitutionsin
many argued tracking theirquestto improvethequalityofinstruc-
disadvantageous to students of colorbecause
tion thatstudentsfromall backgroundsre-
theyare disproportionately relegatedto low ceive. Moreover,additional research that
level tracks(Ford 1995; Hacker1992; Nieto examinesthelinkbetweenout offieldteach-

Suggestion TotalSample Whites Hispanics AfricanAms.

ImprovetheQualityofCP Courses 35 42 44 26
HireBetterTeachers 28 38 22 17
GiveMoreReadingAssignments 24 31 42 4
OfferSAT/ACTPrep,in Elem.School 19 28 8 17
OfferCP Coursesin Elem.School 15 14 8 17
AssignMoreHomework 10 13 25 4
Other 5 4 8 0
N = 156
Note:Totalsmayexceed 100 percentbecause manystudentsselectedmultipleanswers.

Table XI: OtherSuggestionsfromStudents

9
TheHighSchoolJournal- 2002
Apr/May
is needed.Fur- J.1986.Countering theconspiracy todestroyBlack
ingand student achievement Kunjufu,
AmericanImages.
boys.(Vol.2). Chicago:African
thermore, examinations oftheroleofculture Ladson-Billings, G. 1994. The dreamkeepers: Successful
andrace/ethnicity in students' schoolingex- teachersofAfrican-American children.San Francisco:
warrant further research.Additional Jossey-Bass Publishers.
periences Lmdholm,K.J.1992. Two-waybilingual/immersion
research,such as comparative studiesthat education:Theory, conceptualissues,and pedagogical
elicitfeedbackfromnon-college boundhigh implications.In Criticalperspectiveson bilingual
andfrom studentswhoattend educationresearch, eds.R.V.Padilla& A. H. Benavides,
schoolstudents 195-220.Tempe,Az: BilingualPress.
community collegesmight also proveuseful. Lucas,T, Henze,R.& Donato,R.1995.Promoting thesuccess
Thecurrent studyis limitedbecausewomen ofLatinolanguage-minority students:An exploratory
wereoverrepresented in thesampleand cer- study of six high schools. In Shiftinghistories:
Transforming education forsocialchange, eds.G.Capella
tainethnicgroupscomprisedsucha small Noya,K. Geisinar& G. Nicoleau,323-348.Cambridge:
portion ofthetotalsamplethattheywereex- HarvardEducationalReview.
NationalCenterforEducationStatistics 1999.Thenation's
cludedfromtheresults.These limitations
relatedre- reportcard. Washington,DC: U.S. Departmentof
shouldbe considered in planning Education.
searchprojects. Nieto,S. 2000. Affirming Diversity:The Sociopolitical
ContextofMulticultural Education(3rdedition).New
References York:Longinan.
Ail,K. 1993.Literacy instruction m multicultural settings. Oakes,J.1999.Limiting studentsschoolsuccessand lite
(FortWorth, TX: Harcourt BraceCollegePublishers). chances:Theimpactoftracking. In Contemporary issues
Burdinan, P.2000.Extracredit, BlackIssues
extracriticism. in curriculum (2nded.) eds.A.C.Ornstein & L.S. Behar-
in HigherEducation,17 (18),28-33. Horenstein, pp. 224-237.NeedhamHeights, MA:Allyn
Comer, J.P.& Poussaint,A.F.1992.RaisingBlackchildren: and Bacon.
Twoleadingpsychiatrists confront theeducational,social, QualityCounts.2000.EducationWeekXiX{18).
andemotional problems facingBlackchildren.NewYork: Roe,B.D.,Stoodt, B.D.& Burns, P.C.1998.Secondary school
PenguinBooksUSA, Inc. literacy instruction:Thecontentareas, 6thed. Boston:
Darder,A. 1991.Cultureandpowerin theclassroom. New HoughtonMifflin Co.
York:Bergin& Garvey. Ruddell,R.B. 1999. Teachingchildrentoread and write:
Delpit,L. 1995.Otherpeople'schildren.Culturalconflict Becoming an influentialteacher(2nded.).Boston:Allyn
in theclassroom.New York:The New Press. and Bacon.
Drew,D. 1996. Aptituderevisited.Baltimore:The Johns Thompson,G. 2000. CaliforniaEducatorsDiscuss the
HopkinsUniversity Press. ReadingCrisis.TheEducationalForum64 Spring, 229-
Dupuis,J.1999. California lawsuitnotesunequalaccess 234.
toAP courses.Rethinking SchoolsOnline14 (!]. Thompson, G. 2000.Therealdeal on bilingualeducation:
Faltis,C.J.& Memo,B.J.1992. Towarda definitionof Former language-minority studentsdiscusseffectiveand
exemplaryteachersin bilingualmulticultural school ineffectiveinstructionalpractices,educationalHorizons,
settings.In Criticalperspectives on bilingualeducation 78(2),80-92.
research, eds. R.V.Padilla& A. H. Benavides,277-299. Wenglinsky, H. 2000.How teachingmatters: Bringing the
Az:
Tempe, Bilingual Press. classroom back into discussions of teacher quality.
Flores,B., Tefft-Cousin, P.,& Diaz, E. 1991.Transforming Princeton, NewJersey: EducationalTestingService.
deficitmythsabout learning,language,and culture. Wilson,W.J.1996. Mien workdisappears:lhe worldof
LaneuaeeArts.68. dd. 369-378. thenewurbanpoor.New York:AlfredKnopf,Inc.
Ford,D. 1995.Desegregating education:
gifted A need unmet.
Journal ofNegroEducation,64(1),53-62.
Foster,M. & Peele,T.B.1999.Teaching Blackmales:Lessons
fromtheexperts.In African AmericanMalesin School
andSociety: Practices Education.
andPoliciesforEffective
V. C. Polite & J.E. Davis (eds) pp. 8-19). New York:
TeachersCollegePress.
Hacker,A. 1992.Twonations:Blackand White, separate,
hostile,unequal.New York:BallantineBooks.
Hale,J.E.1986.Black children:Theirroots,culture,and
learningstyles(reviseded.). Baltimore, Maryland:The
JohnsHopkinsUniversity Press.
R.M.1999.Theproblem
Ingersoll, ofunderqualified teachers
inAmerican secondary schools.EducationalResearcher,
28(2),26-37.
Judd,CM., Smith,E.R. & Kidder,L.H. 1991. Research
methodsin social relations,(6thed.). Texas:Harcourt
BraceJovanovich CollegePublishers.
Kerlinger, F.N.1986.Foundationsofbehavioralresearch,
(3rded.).FortWorth: Harcourt BraceJovanovich College
Publishers.

10
 In Retrospect:
WhatCollegeUndergraduates
Say

AppendixA
SchoolingExperiencesofCollegeStudents
This questionnairedeals withthe schoolingexperiencesofcollegestudents.Please complete
thequestionnaire and honestlyas possible.Ifyou would like to be interviewed
as thoroughly
forthestudyin orderto providemoredetailedinformation, please includeyournameand tele-
phone number or Email addressat theend ofthe questionnaire.Thankyou verymuch.
1. Did you attendelementary schoolin California?a) yesb) no
2. Wereyou a fluentEnglishspeakerwhenyou startedschoolin California?
a) yes b) no Ifnot,whatis yournativelanguage?
3. How longdid you attendelementary schoolin California?
a) less thanone yr. b) one yr c) twoyrs. d) threeyrs.
e) fouryrs. f) fiveyrs. g) six yrs.
4. Duringelementary school,wereyouplaced in:
a) Giftedand TalentedEducation(GATE)courses b) Special Education c) neither
5. Did yourepeatanyelementary grade? a) yes b) no
Ifyou answered"yes,"whichgrade(s)did you repeat?
a) kindergartenb) first c) second d) third e) fourth f) fifth g) sixth
6. How oftenwereyougivenhomeworkassignments byMOST ofyourelementary school
teachers?
a) oncea week b) twicea week c) threetimesa week d) fourtimesa week e) daily
7. Was MOST ofthehomework:a) beneficial b) somewhatbeneficial c) notbeneficial
8. How muchtimedid yougenerallyspendon homeworkduringelementary school?
a) one hourperweekorless b) 2-3hoursperweek
c) 4-5 hoursperweek d) morethanfivehoursperweek
9. In whichelementarygrade(s)was thecourseworkmostdifficult? Circleall thatapply.
a) kindergartenb) first c) second d) third e) fourth f) fifth g) sixth
10. In whichelementary grade(s)was thecourseworkeasiestforyou?
a) kindergartenb) first c) second d) third e) fourth f) fifth g) sixth
11. In whichelementary grade(s)did you have yourbestteacher(s)?
a) kindergartenb) first c) second d) third e) fourth f) fifth g) sixth
12. In whichelementary grade(s)did you have yourworstteacher(s)?
a) kindergartenb) first c) second d) third e) fourth f) fifth g) sixth
13. How would youratethequalityofinstruction thatMOST ofyourelementary teachers
provided?
b) fair c) good d) excellent
a) poor/inferior
14. In whattypeofelementary schooldid youcompleteMOST ofyourelementary school-
ing?Circletwo answers.
a) public b) private c) other
d) urban/innercity e) suburban f) rural
15. How would you ratethequalityofyourparent(s)/guardian(s) in your
involvement
elementary school education homework,
(regarding with
meeting teachers,
attending
schoolfunctions,etc.)?

11
The HighSchoolJournal-Apr/May2002

a) poor/inferiorb) fair c) good d) excellent

16. Did you attendmiddle/junior highschoolin California? a) yes b) no
17. How longdid you attendmiddle/junior highschoolin California?
a) less thanone yr. b) one yr. c) twoyrs. d) threeyrs. e) morethanthreeyrs.
18. DuringMOST ofyourmiddle/junior highschoolyears,whichacademictrackwereyou
on?
a) Special Education b) Vocational/Businessc) Basic/Regular
d) CollegePreparatorye) Honors/GATE
19. Did you failanymiddle/junior highschoolcourses? a) yes b) no
Ifso, how many?
20. Ifyou answered"yes,"whichcourse(s)did you fail?Circleall thatapply.
a) Math b) English/Language Arts c) Science d) Social Studies
e) RE. f) Reading g) Elective h) Other
21. How oftenwereyougivenhomeworkassignments byMOST ofyourmiddle/juniorhigh
schoolteachers?
a) oncea week b) twicea week c) threetimesa week d) fourtimesa week e) daily
22. Was MOST ofthehomework:a) beneficial b) somewhatbeneficial c) notbeneficial
23. How muchtimedid yougenerallyspendon homeworkduringmiddleschool?
a) one hourperweekor less b) 2-3hoursperweek c) 4-5 hoursperweek
d) 6-7hoursperweek e) 8-9hoursperweek f) 10 ormorehoursperweek
24. In whichmiddle/junior Circleall
highschoolcourse(s)was theworkmostdifficult?
thatapply.
a) Math b) English/LanguageArts c) Science d) Social Studies
e) RE. f) Reading g) Elective h) Other
25. In whichmiddle/juniorhighschoolcourse(s)was theworkeasiestforyou?
a) Math b) English/Language Arts c) Science d) Social Studies
e) RE. f) Reading g) Elective h) Other
26. In whichmiddle/juniorhighschoolcourse(s)did you have yourbestteacher(s)?
a) Math b) English/Language Arts c) Science d) Social Studies
e) RE. f) Reading g) Elective h) Other
27. In whichmiddle/junior highschoolcourse(s)did you have yourworstteacher(s)?
a) Math b) English/Language Arts c) Science d) Social Studies
e) RE. f) Reading g) Elective h) Other
28. How would you ratethequalityofinstruction thatMOST ofyourmiddle/junior high
schoolteachersprovided?
b) fair c) good d) excellent
a) poor/inferior
29. In whattypeofmiddle/junior highschooldid you completeMOST ofyourschooling?
Circletwoanswers.
city d) suburban e) rural f)other
a) public b) private c) urban/inner
30. Howwouldyouratethequalityofyourparent(s)/guardian(s) inyourmiddle/
involvement
juniorhighschool education homework,
(regarding meetingwithteachers,
attending
schoolfunctions,
etc.)?
a) poor/inferiorb) fair c) good d) excellent

12
 In Retrospect:
WhatCollegeUndergraduates
Say
31. Did you attendhighschoolin California? a) yes b) no
32. How longdid you attendhighschoolin California?
a) less thanone yr. b) one yr. c) twoyrs. d) threeyrs. e) fouryrs.
33. DuringMOST ofyourhighschoolyears,whichacademictrackwereyou on?
a) Special Education b) Vocational/Businessc) Basic/Regular
d) CollegePreparatorye) Honors/GATE/Advanced Placement
34. Did youfailanyhighschoolcourses?a) yesb) no Ifso, how many?
Ifyouanswered"yes,"whichcourse(s)did you fail?Circleall thatapply.
a) Math b) English c) Science d) Governmente) History f) RE. g) Business
h) Shop i) DriversEducation j) ForeignLanguage k) Music 1) Band
m) Other
35. How oftenwereyougivenhomeworkassignments byMOST ofyourhighschoolteach-
ers?
a) oncea week b) twicea week c) threetimesa week d) fourtimesa week e) daily
36. Was MOST ofthehomework:a) beneficial b) somewhatbeneficial c) notbeneficial
37. How muchtimedid yougenerallyspendon homeworkduringhighschool?
a) one hourperweekorless b) 2-3 hoursperweek c) 4-5 hoursperweek
d) 6-7 hoursperweek e) 8-9 hoursperweek f) 10 ormorehoursperweek
38. In whichhighschoolcourse(s)was theworkmostdifficult? Circleall thatapply.
a) Math b) English c) Science d) Government e) History f) P.E.
g) Business h) Shop i) DriversEducation j) ForeignLanguage k) Music
1) Band m) Other
39. In whichhighschoolcourse(s)was theworkeasiestforyou?
a) Math b) English c) Science d) Governmente) History f) P.E.
g) Business h) Shop i) DriversEducation j) ForeignLanguage k) Music
1) Band m) Other
40. In whichhighschoolcourse(s)did you have yourbestteacher(s)?
a) Math b) English c) Science d) Governmente) History f) P.E.
g) Business h) Shop i) DriversEducation j) ForeignLanguage k) Music
1) Band m) Other
41. In whichhighschoolcourse(s)did you have yourworstteacher(s)?
a) Math b) English c) Science d) Governmente) History f) P.E.
g) Business h) Shop i) DriversEducation j) ForeignLanguage k) Music
1) Band m) Other
42. How would youratethequalityofinstruction thatMOST ofyourhighschoolteachers
provided?
a) poor/inferiorb) fair c) good d) excellent
43. In whattypeofhighschooldid you completeMOST ofyourhighschooling?
Circletwoanswers. a) public b) private c) other
city e) suburban f) rural
d) urban/inner
44. involvement
How wouldyouratethequalityofyourparent(s)/guardian(s) in yourhigh
homework,meetingwithteachers,attending
schooleducation(regarding schoolfunc-
tions,etc.)?

13
The High School Journal- Apr/May2002

a) poor/inferior b) fair c) good d) excellent

45. In your opinion, what are the MOST IMPORTANT qualities ofoutstandingelementary,
middle school, and high school teachers? Circle all that apply.
a) patience b) friendliness c) niceness d) explains thingswell e) enthusiasm
f) humor g) fairness h) strictness i) challengesstudentsacademically j) makesthe
course work interesting k) gives rewards 1) gives lots of homework
m) gives extrahelp n) intelligence o) makes the course work relevant
p) other
46. What type of college/universitystudent are you? a) part-time b) full-time
47. What is your college level?
a) freshman b) sophomore c) junior d) senior e) graduate student
48. In your opinion, did your K-12 courses and teachers prepare you adequately forcol-
lege/university course work? a) yes b) no
If not, please explain why.

49. Do you thinkthat colleges should provide remedial courses forstudentswho did not
receive adequate academic preparation? a) yes b) no
If so, forwhat subject(s).

50. Have you relied on any tutorial services since you entered college?
a) yes b) no
If so, forwhat subject(s).

51. In your opinion, in what ways can the public school systembetterprepare studentsfor
college?
a) more homework b) betterstudy skills c) more writingpractice
d) bettermath preparation e) more reading assignments f) bettercriticalthinking
skills g) allow all studentsto take college prep, courses h) hiringbetterteachers
i) provide more counseling about college j) gettingparentsmore involved
k) improve the quality of college prep, classes 1) offercollege prep, in elem. school
m) offerSAT/ACT prep, in elem. school n) other
52. What is your gender? a) male b) female
53. What is your major?
54. What is the highestdegree that you plan to earn?
a) B.A./ B.S. Degree b) M.A. Degree c) Doctorate d) J.D.Degree e) M.D. Degree
55. What is your age group?
a) 17-19 b) 20-25 c) 26-30 d) 31-35 e) 36-40 f) 41-45
g) 46-50 h) 51-60 i) over 60
56. What is your currentoverall grade point average?
a) 1.0-1.9 b) 2.0-2.9 c) 3.0-3.9 d) 4.0
57. What is your race/ethnicity?
a) Hispanic b) Native American c) White/Anglo d) Asian e) Pacific Islander

14
 In Retrospect:
WhatCollegeUndergraduates
Say

f) African g) AfricanAmerican h) WestIndian i) Other

58. Wereyoubornin theU.S.? a) yes b) no
in orderto providemoreinformation
Ifyou would liketo be interviewed forthestudy,please
includeyournameand telephonenumberor Email address.
Thankyouverymuch.Please add additionalcommentsbelow or on theback ofthispage.

15