The Gap Between High School College Courses and Real College Readiness

So do college level courses in high school really prepare students for college? I am usually a huge proponent of high school students taking college level courses, if they are ready for the rigor. The whole idea makes perfect sense, right? Smart kids get to skip ahead, save some money on college tuition, and show up to university already ahead of the game. Everyone wins! Except... that's not really what's happening.

College professors are scratching their heads because students who show up with these impressive high school transcripts often can't actually do college-level work. These kids have all the right credentials, but when it comes time to write a paper or think critically about something, their work is surprisingly superficial (Supiano, 2025).

Here's where things get messy. When policymakers and school administrators designed these programs, they were mostly thinking about efficiency and cutting costs. Parents saw them as a way to get their kids a leg up in the crazy competitive world of college admissions (plus save some cash). Schools loved the prestige, and colleges thought they'd get better students. Sounds great, right?

But there's a catch. These programs have basically turned students into test-taking machines. Kids spend so much time learning the specific tricks and formats needed to ace AP exams that they miss out on learning how to actually read, write, and think deeply about stuff. So what exactly are these "college-level" courses teaching?

Sure, research shows that kids who take these classes are more likely to go to college. But are they actually better prepared? 

The thing is, high school and college are completely different. High school is mostly about delivering a set curriculum - everyone learns the same stuff in roughly the same way. College? Not so much. College professors don't expect all their graduates to know identical information. They want students who can think for themselves, question things, and come up with original ideas (Supiano, 2025).

And that's the real problem. The stuff that makes you look good to college admissions offices isn't necessarily what makes you a good college student. You might be a master at memorizing facts and following formats, but college professors want you to think independently, connect different ideas, and have real discussions about complex topics.

This whole system has created a weird illusion. Students think they're ready for college, parents think their kids are prepared, and schools get to brag about their "college readiness" stats. Meanwhile, professors are dealing with students who look prepared on paper but struggle with actual college work.

What we really need is an honest look at whether these programs are setting kids up for success or just teaching them how to play the system (Supiano, 2025). Instead of just offering more college-level classes in high school, we should probably rethink how these courses work and what they're actually trying to accomplish.

The fix isn't going to be easy, but it probably involves completely redesigning these programs to focus on deep thinking and real learning instead of standardized test performance. We need to make sure high school "college prep" actually prepares students for what college is really like, not just what it looks like from the outside.

Otherwise, we're just helping students build impressive transcripts without giving them the tools they need to succeed once they get to college. And that's not doing anyone any favors.

Supiano, B. (2025, July 1). The Crumbling Boundary Between High School and College. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-crumbling-boundary-between-high-school-and-college