Tucson students are committed to graduating from high school. they aspire to careers that require college degrees. They are motivated and ready to work hard to accomplish these dreams. They are hungry for foreign-language and advanced math and science classes. These are the preliminary findings from a survey of 8,568 students in 7th and 11th graders in Pima county.

The purpose of the survey, led by Voices for Education, was to give students the opportunity to evaluate their schools and education Some of what they told us won't surprise any adult: They either love or hate the cafeteria food. The bathrooms are disgusting.

Too much of what they said is troubling: Their schools don't have adequate math and science courses. They want their teachers to demand more from them. They aren't sure they're prepared for college because they rarely talk to counselors. They worry they cannot afford college. Their responses raise questions about weather our community will support public education so these students become the workforce Arizona needs.

Today, we present five findings that policymakers, employers, voters and parents must act upon for the sake of our children and our state.

Over and over again, the problems we see in Arizona schools come down to lack of funding. Public education funding is set by the state Legislature.

Ninety-three percent of Arizona children attend public schools - 85 percent in districts and 8 percent in charters. If legislators aren't supporting public education, they aren't investing in our state and don't deserve our support.

Voters must choose candidates who are fighting for and demanding the best education system possible. All of us must understand this will cost money. 

HOW THE SURVEY WAS CREATED

Development was a partnership between Voices for Education, the University of Arizona's College of Education and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, along with help from superintendents, students, teachers, and 2020 Vision participants. We looked at over 100 surveys from around the world, and held numerous focus groups.

This survey will be administered again in four years, giving us the ability to find out if we're making progress.

Finding 1: Educational aspirations of current 7th & 11th-graders
 
"The job I aspire to requires..."
High school diploma.......7%
Some college................4%
2-year college...............3%
4-year college.............34%
Graduate degree..........18%
Not sure.....................32%

The majority of students aspire to careers that require a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.

The statistics above show the good news. Currently, just 31% of Arizona's high school graduates go directly to college, compared to 39% nationally. Arizona also lags nationwide in the proportion of adults who have a bachelor's degree. The Board of Regents has made it a priority to produce more than 670,000 college graduates by 2020, to reach national parity. According to the survey, many of thee aspiring college graduates are already in our public schools.

But they don't all graduate from high school. Nor do they go on to colloegein the numbers one would expect from their aspirations.

Why not??

Finding 2: Roadblock to higher education, according to students

"I may not be able to go to college because....."

College is too expensive.....................................50%
My grades are inadequate...................................36%
I don't know what I want to study........................20%
I need to work to support my family.....................17%
I need to take care of my family...........................14%
I'm afraid to attend college..................................14%
I don't have enough information about college.......12%
I don't know how to apply to college.....................12%


Students lack access to advisers for college and career planning

The above numbers indicate that some roadblocks students encounter in their efforts to pursue a college education are not all that surprising - although the numbers are. Half say the cost might stop them, and 36 percent report that their grades might be inadequate.

These findings should concern us because tuition and fees are rising fast. In response to state funding cuts of 25 percent in the last two years, mandatory tuition and fees at the UA will go up 10 percent to 20 percent next school year. The three universities are talking about limiting or eliminating the free-ride AIMS scholarships for excelling students.

If 36 percent of public-school students want to go to college but lack the preparation, should we just resign ourselves and say "not college material?" Or is there something to be done - some way to strengthen the preparatuib they are receiving?

One theme that stands out in the survey result, both in the quantitative findings and in the students' responses to open-ended questions, is how much students want career and college counseling - and how little of this they get. The numbers below show this problem:


"I speak with a counselor about Job/ career plans....."
            
                   Never        Yearly        Monthly       Weekly           
7th Grade:      76%        17%            5%              3%

11th Grade:    32%        45%           20%             3%


"I discuss career plans with....."
            
                                      Frequently      Occasionally    Rarely/Never
Mother/female guardian         60%                 23%                17%

Father/male guardian            49%                 23%                28%

Friends                                 52%                 25%                23%

Teachers                               21%                 23%                57%

School Counselors                 16%                  16%                68%


Budget cuts imposed by the Legislature last year resulted in the reduction or elimination of counseling positions. Even before those cuts, counselors had been responsible for 500 students - giving each student about 1.9 hours a year for college or job counseling.

But the consequences for students of not being able to have a sustained relationship with a teacher or counselor deserves our attention: One in five students may not go to college because they may not know what they want to study; one in seven may not go because they are afraid, and one in eight may not go because they lack information or simply don't know how to apply.  Data does show that young people are talking to parents and friends about their future careers, but less than half (45 percent) feel that their parents are able to help them plan for college.

The bottom line is that young people need financial resources to go on to college, and they need counselors and teachers who know them and can guide them in a sustained way.

 These are findings 1 and 2 of Part 1 of the survey.  There is more to come and we'll be posting it over the next few weeks.

By Brooke Bedrick and Robin Hiller