Tips to help your high school senior avoid senioritis

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 6, 2002) -- "Senioritis," the lackadaisical effort many students exhibit in their final year of high school, sabotages success at the college level.

Enough so that the nation's education leaders formed a National Commission on the High School Senior Year to address the issue.
Elizabeth Boucher, a Tennessee Tech University instructor of academic development, has worked with many students who enter college unprepared for success. She suggests high school seniors and their parents evaluate what they expect from the final year.

Boucher says students should ask themselves:

• What do I want to achieve?
• What do I have to do to reach my goal?
• Is what I'm doing now helping me reach my goal?

"These questions universally allow a high school or college student to figure out if they are on the right track," said Boucher. "Of course, a student may not know exactly what he or she wants to achieve, but asking the questions often helps a student focus."

Experts estimate that nearly a quarter of college freshmen drop out, while about 30 percent take remedial courses in reading, writing or math. Boucher says college students who have not used their senior year as a transition time to develop persistence and concentration can take two or three years to catch up on the discipline and study skills needed to succeed in college.

"The best read on what slacking off in high school costs a college student is what the student says about his or her experience," said Boucher. "They admit their senior year was a waste of time, and that scares them."

Many universities offer entering at-risk freshmen courses for credit, such as TTU's University1050 course, to help them identify and correct weaknesses in specific disciplines, plus help improve reading comprehension, test taking, note taking, time management, concentration and memory skills.

--Karen Lykins

This information posted 19 August 2002