评论
打印
American colleges could see an increase in students unprepared for the demands of college-level work, education experts say.
教育专家表示，美国大学可能会发现有越来越多的学生对大学水平的学业要求毫无准备。
Unprepared students have a higher risk of dropping out – an action that hurts everything from a person’s long-term earnings to the health of the country’s workforce.
没有做好准备的学生辍学的几率更高——这一行为会对个人长期收入、国家劳动力健康等造成损害。
Across the U.S., there are many students like Angel Hope.
在美国各地，有很多像安吉尔·霍普这样的学生。
Hope graduated near the top of his high school class.
霍普高中以几乎全班第一的成绩毕业。
But on a test — a University of Wisconsin exam that measures what new students learned in high school — all he could do was guess.
但在威斯康星大学的一项测试中，他所能做的就是猜，该测试检测的是新生在高中学到的知识。
It was like all the problems caused by the pandemic were catching up to him at once.
就好像疫情造成的所有问题同时向他袭来。
Hundreds of thousands of recent graduates are going to college this autumn after spending more than half their high school years dealing with the pandemic.
数十万刚毕业的学生将在今年秋季上大学，他们高中一半以上的时间都在应对疫情。
These students experienced a move to online learning, the difficulties of U.S. teacher shortages, and large changes to their home lives.
这些学生经历了在线学习、美国师资短缺的困难以及他们家庭生活的巨大变化。
Many students are believed to be far behind in learning.
许多学生被认为在学习上远远落后。
Allison Wagner is head of All-In Milwaukee - a program that provides financial aid and other assistance to poor students, including Hope.
艾利森·瓦格纳是All-In Milwaukee项目的负责人，该项目为包括霍普在内的贫困学生提供经济等方面的援助。
Wagner saw many students work part-time jobs in their last year of high school.
瓦格纳看到许多学生在高中最后一年做兼职工作。
She saw more students than ever who did not take math or science classes because of teacher shortages.
她发现由于师资短缺，越来越多的学生没有上数学或科学课。
“There is no way they are going to be academically prepared for … college,” she said.
她说：“他们不可能在学业上做好上大学的准备。”
Her group is spending more money to help students with summer classes in math or science.
她的组织正在花更多的钱来帮助学生上数学或科学的暑期课程。
Still, she feels the setbacks will force some students to take more than four years to graduate or, worse, drop out.
不过，她认为这些挫折将会迫使一些学生花四年多的时间才能毕业，或者更糟糕的是，辍学。
Researchers say that online learning was difficult for students.
研究人员表示，在线学习对学生来说很难。
For younger students, there is still hope that America’s schools can close learning gaps.
对于年纪较小的学生来说，美国学校仍有希望缩小学习差距。
But for those who graduated in the last two years, experts fear many will struggle.
但对于那些在过去两年里毕业的学生来说，专家担心许多学生会遇到困难。
Colleges from New Jersey to California have been expanding “bridge” programs.
从新泽西州到加利福尼亚州的大学都在扩大“桥梁”项目。
These programs provide summer classes, often for students from poor families or those who are the first in their families to attend college.
这些项目通常为来自贫困家庭的学生或家中第一个上大学的学生提供暑期课程。
In Hanceville, Alabama, Wallace State Community College this year used state money to create its first summer bridge program.
位于阿拉巴马州的华莱士州立社区学院汉斯维尔分校今年利用州政府的资金创建了它的第一个夏季“桥梁”项目。
Students can take three weeks of lessons in math and English in order to avoid remedial classes.
学生可以上三周的数学和英语课，以避免补习班。
Remedial classes are for students who need special help to improve in a subject.
补习班是为那些需要特殊帮助以提高某一学科成绩的学生开设的。
The school hoped to bring in up to 140 students, but just 10 signed up.
该校希望招收多达140名学生，但只有10名学生报名。
Other states have used federal pandemic money to help colleges build summer programs.
其他州使用联邦疫情纾困资金来帮助大学建立暑期项目。
Kentucky, for example, gave colleges $3.5 million for the effort this year.
例如，肯塔基州今年为大学提供了350万美元的资金。
Amanda Ellis is a vice president of Kentucky’s Council on Postsecondary Education.
阿曼达·埃利斯是肯塔基州高等教育委员会的副主席。
“We need these people to be our future workforce, and we need them to be successful,” she said.
她说：“我们需要这些人成为我们未来的劳动力，我们需要他们取得成功”。
Months after struggling with his math test, Hope went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for six weeks of classes in a summer bridge program.
在受数学考试折磨之后的几个月，霍普去威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校参加了为期六周的夏季桥梁项目。
He took a math class that covered what he missed in high school.
他上了数学课，弥补了他在高中时缺失的课程。
He signed up to take calculus in the autumn.
他报名参加秋季的微积分课程。
Hope also brought back study skills that he stopped using in high school.
霍普还找回了他在高中时停止使用的学习技能。
He started studying at the library.
他开始在图书馆学习。
He rediscovered what it is like to enjoy school.
他重新发现了享受学校生活的滋味。
Most importantly, he says the experience changed his way of thinking.
最重要的是，他说，这段经历改变了他的思维方式。
Now he feels like he is at school to learn, not just to get by.
现在，他觉得自己在学校是为了学习，而不仅仅是为了勉强应付。
“After this, I definitely feel prepared for college,” he said.
他说：“在这之后，我确实觉得自己为上大学做好了准备”。
“If I didn’t have this, I would be in a very bad place.”
“如果我没有参加这些课程，我的处境会很糟糕。”
I’m John Russell.
约翰·拉塞尔为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
