May is upon us and in high schools all over the country this means that 12th-graders are counting the days -- some even hours -- until graduation. Certainly there are plenty of conscientious and determined 12th-graders who for a variety of reasons will study diligently until graduation, but unfortunately these are the exception. For most seniors the closing weeks of the 12th-grade year is all about biding academic time and treading intellectual water. Most have been admitted to college and, since college admission has become the be-all-and-end-all of high school, there seems to be little motivation to continue working.

		Gary J. Niels is head of Winchester Thurston School, a coed independent K-12 school with campuses in Shadyside and Hampton.

This "senior slide" has been going on for decades. In recent years it's been elongated by the popularity of Early Decision, a process in which high school seniors apply to one college (as opposed to numerous colleges) in the late fall (as opposed to late winter) and commit to attend if accepted. This phenomenon has been a boon to colleges, allowing them to better manage the time-crunch issues that plagued them when they had to wait until late spring to learn which of their admitted students had elected to enroll and whether this yield would enable them to have enough students for beds or enough beds for students.

Early Decision has had enormous educational implications for high schools. Living with unmotivated seniors for six weeks in late spring is one thing. Add to that the growing number of seniors who start their slide in December, and schools have a larger challenge on their hands. In this way and others, college admission has invaded high school education.

The Advanced Placement program is another example of the invasion. In the AP curriculum, high school students enroll in a college-level course, the specific content of which is assembled by the College Board, the organization that also authors the SAT. Ask any student or teacher and they will verify that AP courses are high-speed endeavors, covering a considerable volume of material. Although "coverage" is one form of academic rigor, other forms of rigor suffer at the hands of the "we've-got-to-get-through-this-material" mentality so characteristic of AP courses. Unfortunately the evidence that we have about learning conflicts with the coverage phenomenon.

	Stacy Innerst, Post-Gazette Click illustration for larger image.

We know that students learn best when they have opportunities to explore areas of interest; when they have the opportunity to see the relevance of what they are learning; when they are offered a variety of assessment instruments and when these assessments provide them with opportunities to apply what they've learned to real-world conditions; and when they see the interdisciplinary connections in what they are learning. Nonetheless, students are certainly capable of rote learning, especially if they think it will help their chances for college admission.

Rote learning is a phenomenon that quality schools seek to minimize. Good high schools strive to offer a curriculum that results in what might be called higher order learning. Unfortunately, such pursuits may be curtailed because students and schools know that the more APs on a student's transcript the more competitive he or she becomes in the college admission process.

This reality drives many high schools into offering as many AP courses as possible. Yet, many do so with the understanding that although it benefits the students in the college admission process, it may also compromise the best learning practices.

One college guidance counselor from a nationally respected high school recently commented to me that the drive to offer as many AP courses as possible is causing our high schools to "all be plain vanilla," meaning the pressure to offer many AP courses diminishes each high school's ability to offer its own variety of flavors in curricular content and pedagogy. A few richly endowed and/or nationally known independent schools have eliminated from their curricula not only the AP program, but also the pedagogy of coverage. However, for nearly all good high schools there is still great pressure to offer AP courses -- strong evidence of the invasion of college admission into the high school experience.

The most lethal impact that the college admission invasion is having on high school pertains to student motivation. Sadly, fewer and fewer high school students seem motivated by a desire to learn and grow intellectually. Instead their focus is largely on grades, which they know is one of the foremost determinates in college admission. The relationship between grades and learning is subtle -- but profound nonetheless -- especially when it comes to a student's prime motivation.

Years ago I took it upon myself to identify the various characteristics that accompanied what appeared to be two competing mindsets with respect to high school. As students and parents gathered for high school orientation, I shared my observations and challenged them to consider which of the two mindsets was of the higher order and, more importantly, which they would embrace over the course of their high school experience. The mindsets were to view high school solely as a means to college admission or to view high school as a means to college (and life) preparation.

If the student viewed high school solely as a means to college admission, then he or she would focus on building an impressive transcript by piling on honors and AP courses; attaining good grades at any costs; avoiding difficult and challenging teachers; concealing personal shortcomings; and participating in multiple extracurricular activities to bolster the transcript. In essence it was a value of style over substance.

These behaviors would often be accompanied by certain dispositions: a diminished interest in learning, except if it enhanced one's grade; heightened anxiety about tests, in fact, a propensity to obsess about grades and scores; a willingness to make moral compromises in order to achieve better results; and a belief that admission to some reputable college is synonymous with breathing.

Conversely if the student viewed high school as a means to college and life preparation, then he or she would endeavor to be intellectually challenged; seek out highly qualified and demanding teachers; display an inner curiosity in class; show willingness to experiment with new activities; view tests and grades as opportunities to synthesize knowledge and evaluate progress; and choose to attend the college that best fits his or her interests and personality.

Graduating from college is essential; achieving grades that reflect a mastery of knowledge is satisfying and important; reaching for admission to an excellent college is noble. But college admission has gone beyond such appropriate boundaries. Instead it is the new quest for eternal life!

Ironically, it is imperiling our souls. Evidence indicates that cheating is still viewed as morally wrong, yet every year the majority of high school students engage in cheating behavior -- usually because of the pressure to achieve good grades. Do we doubt why corporate cheating is so rampant? The seeds are sown early.

College admission has invaded high school and it is here to stay. The question for students, parents, schools and teachers is: How will we respond to the college invasion? We can approach high school as the sole means to college admission or as a means to college -- and life -- preparation.

We can allow seniors to wander school corridors from December until June, or we can propose a new model that re-examines the needs of 12th-graders to create a senior year that is meaningful and appropriate for a changing world. And, we can condone pedagogical practices that are driven by college admission, or we can espouse pedagogy for college and life preparation. A high school program designed solely to position the student for college admission is a curriculum that fosters superficiality. It is a curriculum that is amoral, and evidence indicates that it fosters immoral behavior.

The college admission invasion is here to stay. But it provides us all with the opportunities to choose a higher value.