Kelly in Kansas

The Chronicle: Daily news: 02/15/2006 -- 01: "Back in 1992, Jack and John graduated from high school. Each went on to attend a four-year college. By their mid-20s, Jack had received a bachelor's degree, but John had not. Why did one succeed, but not the other?

An expansive set of potential answers appears in a new national report that examines the factors that helped Jack and thousands of his peers earn a postsecondary diploma.

The report, released on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education, found that the rigor of a student's high-school curriculum is the strongest indicator of whether he or she will earn a college degree, regardless of major. The 'academic intensity' of students' high-school courses played a larger role than did their grades and standardized test scores, according to the report, 'The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion From High School Through College.'"

I'm still trying to figure out how they address all of the factors that the institutions themselves (and the faculty therein) have absolutely no control over. Even making it a popularity contest doesn't keep some students in school as the rest of their lives take over . . . . What will be most interesting is how this impacts colleges and universities - it's been coming down the hall but the snowball is getting much more ominous.