Stress from coronavirus changed the plans of high school students

Two polls of high school students are being released today – and both suggest the impact of the coronavirus pandemic will linger on colleges for some time to come.

A significant number of students report that their curricula have changed and that they want to study close to home and at low cost.

A survey was conducted by America’s Promise Alliance, a national coalition of educational institutions and other groups, that focused on “the barriers that stand in the way of young people’s success”. The other was the Strada Education Network, which focuses on finding ways to improve life “by building pathways between education and employment”.

America’s Promise survey was planned before the pandemic but was restructured after the pandemic broke out. The survey was carried out in March and April 2021 among a nationwide representative sample of 2,439 high school students. (It’s not clear if the more optimistic view of the pandemic would have changed the results over the past month or two.)

“Students have seen tremendous upheavals in their families, schools and communities over the past school year,” said a report on the survey. “Other influences, including the country’s economy, disruptions in the higher education landscape and looming public health concerns, left students with profound insecurity after graduation. Overall, around four in five (78 percent) reported 11.- and 12.- Graduates “that COVID-19 affected their plans at least a little after high school, with nearly one in five reporting that their plans were badly affected.

The report said, “The most common student reporting that their place of study has changed. For example, a third (34 percent) of young people say they will change their plans to go to college closer to where they live, and a quarter (24 percent) plan to attend a two-year instead of a four-year institution. Some young people (7 percent) say they no longer plan to go to college and 16 percent say they plan to go to college later. “

Of 11th and 12th grade students who said their plans changed, nearly half said their plans changed for financial (47 percent) or family reasons (45 percent). Far fewer cited changes in their interests (24 percent), the report said, “suggesting that postponement of plans is largely driven by pressures beyond the control of young people.”

Sean Flanagan, America’s Promise senior director of research, said a majority of the students have changed their plans. “They are really busy with what their post-secondary education is going to be,” he said.

Strada interviewed 1,212 high school graduates (half of last year’s senior high school) whose plans had been mixed up by the pandemic.

The survey revealed:

• Most intermittent high school graduates have revised their post-secondary education plans in some way. 35 percent of students said they would choose a cheaper program, 31 percent looked for options near where they lived, 21 percent another major, and 18 percent a shorter program.
• Troubled black students were more likely than their white counterparts to change their future education plans – for example, 40 percent of black graduates say they would look for cheaper options, compared to 33 percent of white graduates.
• Sixty-nine percent of college graduates still believe that additional education would help them get a good job, and 63 percent think they would be successful, but only 45 percent believe that the benefits of the education would outweigh the costs.

“The 2020 and 2021 high school classes severely affected their educational experience,” said Dave Clayton, Strada senior vice president. “To help these students reconnect, educators and policymakers should listen to what these students need: better advice, clear information about the link between education and career, and an easier method of getting financial support.”

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/stress-from-coronavirus-changed-the-plans-of-high-school-students/