Summer School Options for High School Failures
Community Colleges and On-Line Courses are Viable Opportunities
May 12, 2009
Every spring, high school counselors wrestle with the prospect of semester failures that may impede a student’s ability to move to the next level. Avoiding student drop outs from high school is a crucial aspect of on-going education reform and many states have instituted remedial policies or special programs in partnership with local community colleges to curb rising drop out rates.
In past decades, public schools facilitated “summer school” programs that enabled students failing courses to improve grades while at the same time giving passing students an opportunity to take summer courses, possibly speeding graduation requirements. But budget concerns have eliminated most of these summer programs and in most cases, students and their parents are on their own.
Possible Summer School Options
Community colleges in many states offer “dual enrollment” programs that allow high school students to take courses offered under the college transfer program. Although taught on a higher level than in most high schools, this is a definite option to overcome a semester failure. The downside is that many community colleges offer limited sections in the summer and often have no classes in particular subject areas.
Several colleges and universities offer on-line courses specifically designed for high school students. Parents and students should contact the school counselors to find a program that will be acceptable to the school in terms of academic credit. The downside here is that many students that failed traditional face-to-face classes may not be motivated to complete on-line courses.
Local tutoring services offer extended services designed to help failed students make up the course through a series of readings, assessments, and other requirements. While highly expensive, this approach seeks to address specific areas of weakness that may have led to the failure. Thus, instead of re-teaching an entire course, the tutors concentrate on those areas that caused the failure.
The downside of this approach is that schools may not be satisfied with a “patch work” approach to the course failure. Additionally, the costs involved with private tutoring services can be prohibitive. Yet, if the failure occurred because the student could not write an acceptable paper or essay, this avenue might be worth exploring.
As with all options, parents and students should obtain, in writing, prior approval from the school to pursue specific remedial approaches. Additionally, parents and students should be informed exactly how the remedial program will affect the overall grade. Will the planned course of study replace the failed course? How will a passing grade be calculated in the GPA?
Summer School Learning Packets
Some schools use summer “packets,” prepared by teachers, that attempt to re-teach the failed course. These packets never accomplish their purpose. In most cases, they include reams of mindless worksheets that serve no significant educational purpose. Packets are the ultimate in “busy work.”
The Philosophy of Summer School Work
Schools need to determine the exact cause of individual student failures. Naturally, this is time consuming. But if the goal is to educate every child and curb high school drop out rates, the effort is worthwhile. If student failure resulted from one specific area, such as writing, then any summer remedial program should focus on that area of deficiency.
The academic rehabilitation of a student should not be tied to unnecessary and redundant instruction. Rather, it should focus on specific areas of weakness. Many states that have remedial programs in place to assist students failing standardized end-of-grade tests already know the value of this approach. Why not broaden it to include high school failures?
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