More and more is being required of students these days. Calls for tougher graduation standards and more summer school classes are forcing students to work harder than ever before. The surprising thing is where these calls are coming from: students.
Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc. conducted a survey of 1,005 high-school students last May and found that 9 in 10 students say they would work harder if their school expected more of them. Fewer than one-third of the students said their school has high enough expectations.
Although the survey applied only to 13-19 year olds, the implications easily reach The University of Memphis campus.
It may surprise some that students have started to require more of themselves, but to others it is seen as a natural reaction to the world around them.
Peter Hart, head of the firm conducting the survey, said he believes that students are becoming more aware of the competitive nature of the real world.
"There's a recognition among students that they have to be more ready to compete," Hart said.
Patricia Simpson, a research associate at The U of M, said she sees future college students as a generation that is more mature than past generations.
"Living in today's world requires more of them," she said.
In the past, the trend was for teachers to lower grading scales and make graduation more attainable by relaxing requirements. The goal was to raise graduation rates, but those numbers fell in the late '90s.
"Obviously, they're dissatisfied with the way they perceive their education," Simpson said.
Senior Keesha Furniss said she was challenged in high school, and as an early childhood education major, she said she intends to hold her students to high standards.
"If you make it easier, they'll just slack off more," she said.
Most of the students surveyed favored ideas like more rigorous graduation standards. A majority would like an increase in the availability of after school and summer school programs.
More specifically, those surveyed preferred requiring all students to pass math and English exams, as well as requiring four years of math and courses in biology, chemistry and physics.
Furniss said she supports higher standards.
"I know I work harder when I'm challenged," she said.
