Keith Wheelock, Skillman
Too many of our high school students are not graduating ready to begin collegeor a career and many are not eligible to serve in our armed forces.
Arne Duncan, U.S. Education Secretary (December 2010)
Secretary Duncan says that many American parents have “cognitive dissonance” concerning primary and secondary schools: they think that their childrens’ schools are fine. This is understandable when: 1) few children are flunked or held back; 2) many children receive honor grades in high school; and 3) national high school graduate rates have increased.
In fact, the reality is sadly different. As an adjunct history professor at Raritan Valley Community College since 1992, I’ve been increasingly disturbed over the past decade by the decline, for a majority of my students in American and world history, in their sustained effort, their personal sense of responsibility, and their ability to read and comprehend at the college level.
I was appalled by the findings of a June 2010 National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education [NCPPHE]: 75 percent of all high school graduates admitted to community colleges nationwide are required to take remedial, non-credit courses in English and/or math. I did not imagine that the figures for New Jersey could be of such a dreadful magnitude. I was astonished to discover, from New Jersey Commission on Higher Education [NJCHE] annual reports, that:
In 2009, 69 percent of first-time/ full-time students (FTFT) at Raritan Valley Community College, which draws on students from two of New Jersey’s wealthier counties, were required to take remedial courses in English and/or math;
At Kean University, which includes New Jersey’s largest teacher training college, in 2008 67.8 percent of FTFT students were enrolled in remediation courses;
Many education experts have written about the American education crisis. I personally don’t anticipate any swift and rigorous bottoms-up amelioration of our public education mediocrity. I have witnessed earlier education reform movements post- Sputnik, in the 1980s, the No Child Left Behind sputtering initiative which have not resulted in major systemic improvement.
Columnist Tom Friedman has written in the New York Times that the flaccid U.S. education system is a potential Achilles’ heel that could hobble America in the 21st century global economy. Educators and politicians will long be debating what should be done to improve our educational rigor. My immediate suggestion is to focus on high school outcomes.
Nationally the cost of a four-year high school education ranges from $35,000 to $60,000. Students, parents, and taxpayers should demand full value, when a high school diploma is awarded: this should certify that the recipient is qualified in core high school subjects. At present, this clearly is not the case for a majority of high school graduates nationally and in New Jersey.
A national clamor sparked by shoddy auto construction resulted in Lemon Laws in all 50 states that obliged auto manufacturers to honor their warranties on ‘clunkers.’ I would hope that student, parent, and taxpayer outrage would prompt a similar high school diploma Lemon Law. At a minimum, a Lemon Law for high school diplomas should require a charge back to the certifying high school for all fees incurred in providing any student who was granted that diploma with the future necessity for remedial English and math courses.
At present I am unaware that the public has access to any high school data related to the proportion of its graduates who subsequently require academic remediation. A Lemon Law would highlight this information for students, parents, and school boards.
Keith Wheelock, a Raritan Valley Community adjunct history professor since 1992, after diplomatic and business careers, is a resident of Skillman.

