High school graduation is worth celebrating. It marks a big change in the lives

High school graduation is worth celebrating. It marksa big change in the lives of young adults. However, it ought to mean even more.It ought to mean that the graduate is ready for college or career.

In a report issued last year, we found that almosthalf of recent Illinois high school graduates required remedial courses(补习课) upon enrolling(注册) acommunity college. These courses require time and money to complete, yet offerno credits toward a degree. Too often, students never get through thoseremedial courses and end up dropping out of college.

Why is the remediation rate so high? A large part ofthe reason is that we have not set high enough standards for what our studentsneed to learn from kindergarten to high school. They simply aren’t equippedwith the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

The same is true for careers. In Illinois, good jobscontinue to go vacant(空缺) even while we are trying hard to gothrough tough economic times. This is due largely to the mismatch between theskills and knowledge we provide our students with and what employers in a moderneconomy need workers to know.

The good news is that in Illinois we have a plan tohelp get our students ready for life in the real world. We have already takenan important first step by becoming one of the 45 states to adopt the CommonCore State Standards and have begun introducing them to classrooms this year.The new standards provide fewer, clearer and higher benchmarks(标准) for academic progress. They focus on deeperknowledge required at each grade level, give teachers the opportunity toexplore topics fully and ensure students can apply what they’ve learned.

Research shows that when expectations are raised,students rise to meet them. Adapting to higher standards and raisingexpectations may prove challenging, but they are the steps we must take so thatour students are successful in high school and prepared for college andcareers. Readiness is worth a celebration.

1.According to the passage, in most cases, studentstaking part in remedial courses ___.

A．come fromwealthy families

B．leave collegebefore finishing their courses

C．are offeredcredits toward a degree

D．are likely todevelop their academic interest

2.The author uses the third and fourth paragraphs to__.

A．providesolutions to the rising remediation rate

B．show thepresent situation of unemployment in Illinois

C．suggestknowledge learned in school be put into practice

D．explain whystudents aren’t prepared for college and a career

3.Which of the following statements about the CommonCore State Standards is TRUE?

A．They were firstadopted in Illinois.

B．Morebenchmarks are required.

C．They benefitteachers as well as students.

D．They ensurestudents’ success in college.

4.Based on the last paragraph, what is the author’sattitude to raising expectations of students?

A．Supportive                            B．Critical

C．Doubtful                              D．Worried

试题答案

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题