[Online Exclusive]: College students demonstrate poor literacy, study finds

Less than half of college students graduate with broad
proficiency in mathematics and reading, according to a report
issued by the American Institutes for Research last week.

The report found that 20 percent of students at four-year
institutions had only basic quantitative literacy. One example of a
basic skill is the ability to calculate costs of items from a
menu.

The study, “The Literacy of America’s College
Students,” measured different types of literacy for 1,827
graduating students from 80 randomly selected two- and four-year
public and private colleges and universities nationwide. They were
asked to read prose, find facts in documents, and do math
problems.

In prose literacy questions, the students were tested in their
ability to read and understand information in newspapers and
brochures, and for document literacy, students were presented with
forms, transportation schedules, maps and prescription labels.

For quantitative literacy, students were asked to calculate a
tip or complete an order form.

The low levels of literacy found in the study did not surprise
education Professor Sylvia Hurtado.

In the course of her own research, Hurtado has found that
professors at public universities believe 45 percent of freshmen
are not prepared for college. Professors at private institutions
feel the same way about 30 percent of their students.

Hurtado said one of the reasons college students are graduating
with only basic skills and lacking proficiency in core areas may be
the graduation requirements for these universities.

Stéphane Baldi, who directed the study at the American
Institutes of Research, said she was surprised and troubled by the
weak quantitative literacy of many college graduates.

“A knowledgeable workforce is vital to cope with the
increasing demands of the global marketplace,” Baldi
said.

Larry McQuiillan, a spokesman for the Institute, pointed out
that other aspects of the new study are encouraging. For one, the
study found “no gender gap between men and women,” he
said.

The study found some improvement on some literacy levels when
compared to previously tested college graduates.

While the mathematical literacy of today’s graduates was
no different, the study found that current college graduates are
able to deal with documents and prose better than college graduates
have in the past.

Hurtado said she believes part of the problem is that high
schools are not preparing students for college.

The problem of unprepared entering freshmen is greater at public
universities, according to Hurtado.

“Some public institutions are not very selective. They are
accepting up to 80 percent of students,” Hurtado said.

Hurtado said she has not found this to be a major problem at
UCLA. Because of the competitive applicant pool and relatively low
admissions rate, UCLA students are better prepared for the rigors
of college study, she said.

White students from four-year institutions had the highest
average prose and quantitative literacy than any other racial or
ethnic group.

“There is certainly a difference between the schools
(whites and ethnic minorities) go to,” Hurtado said

She blames tracking, the system of placing some students in
college preparatory courses and others in easier math or science
classes, for exacerbating this divide.

“Not everyone is getting the same preparation,”
Hurtado said.