High School vs. College

High School (A Right)

College (A Privilege)

Class Time:

 6 hours per day, 5 days a week

Class Time: 12-18 hours per week, 1-3 times a week, classes might last 1-4 hours each

Price: Free, including books

Price: Several hundred dollars tuition & must pay for books

Study Time: 2 hours per day?? Frequent test & quizzes, variety of assignments including worksheets

Study Time: 2 hours of study for every one hour of class: 4+ hours per day. Infrequent tests & quizzes, mostly papers assigned

Grades: Report cards sent to parents student, graded on effort & modifications

Grades: Report cards sent to student (access from web site), graded on performance only, no modifications

Graduation: Can graduate without passing TAKS, no specific GPA required, can’t be expelled for grades

Graduation: Cannot graduate without passing TSI requirements, must have 2.0 GPA or higher to graduate, can be suspended for low grades

Teachers: Active role in your progress

Teachers: Passive role. You may need to initiate assistance

Knowledge: Memorization of facts, grammar rules, following class experiments in science

Knowledge: Critical thinking, critically thinking about literature, define & experiment on own

Academic Feedback & Pace: day to day homework, graded often, teacher monitoring, special services monitoring, limited work outside class, slower pace

Academic Feedback & Pace: long range assignments, student works independently, extra work outside of class, quick pace, expectation to get tutoring on own if behind

Structure:  High, limits set by teachers, parents, other adults

Structure: Low limits set by you. No one will come to you

Legal Protection: IDEA, ADA, Section 504

Legal Protection: ADA, Section 504

Goal: Assist & ensure SUCCESS

Goal: Assist & give ACCESS

Identifying Students with Disabilities: School

Identifying Students with Disabilities: Student Initiative

Documentation & Supporting Need for Accommodation: School, umbrella coverage in all academics

Documentation & Supporting Need for Accommodation: Student, each accommodation must be justified. Accommodations are specific to area of disability

Timeline: Decided on by school district, testing may carry over for years

Timeline: Documentation must be less than 5 years old & often less than 3 years old

Providing Accommodations: School

Providing Accommodations: College

Modifications: Shortened assignments, textbooks on reading level, graded on effort, revisions & assistance on test, exempt from tests

Accommodations, not modifications: Books on tape, note takers, extra time on test, alternative location for exam

Planning Course of Study: School

Planning Course of Study: Student/College

Advocating to Obtain Services: Parent & student, ARD, 504 & IEP meetings

Advocating to Obtain Services: Student must know own strengths & weakness

Deciding on Coursework: IEP team including student

Deciding on Coursework: Student

Related Services: Schools provide all services related to educational needs, including rehabilitation & personal

Related Services: College provides physical & academic access only. Personal needs are student’s responsibility

Responsibility: School & parents are held responsible for some actions & behavior

Responsibility: Student is an adult & held responsible for all actions & behavior