Crossing The Finish Line Analysis

Through the assigned readings, Tough expounds on the prevalence of the college conundrum in America’s higher education system, by which he associates with the growth in college drop outs as a byproduct of a system that failed to successfully develop non-cognitive abilities, and an absence of implementation to address the achievement gap for underachieving students. Throughout the readings, Tough introduces and substantiates his assertions with the findings in Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities, Jeff Nelson’s expositions, an analysis by UC economists on study time, and the story of Kewauna. His argument solidifies his view that demonstrate how students with the necessary character strengths were able …show more content…
He illustrates the disturbing trend of an exponential growth in college dropouts rates in America, even when a bachelor’s degree is seen as a valuable asset, and graduation rates in other countries have considerably risen in comparison. Subsequently, Tough sought to uncover the root causes for this complication. As a result, he draws his conclusions from a book titled Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities, in which the authors, Bowen, McPherson, and Chingos, conduct a research study to find out the reason behind the rise in drop out rates.. Tough presents …show more content…
His exploration leads him to Jeff Nelson, a founder of a program called OneGoal that seeks to prepare disadvantaged students with the tools to be admitted and to succeed in college. He presents this concept in the words of Jeff Nelson, when he writes, “The average incoming score of our students is hovering around a fourteen, or the tenth percentile … what I do believe is that ninety percent of the population is reaching a better education than our students have received” (Tough 168). In accordance with Nelson, the accumulated score of his students is in the tenth percentile. He concludes that his students do not receive the same level of education as those in the higher percentile and suggests that there must be more done. In other words, I believe the achievement gap can be defined as the difference in academic performance, and readiness for college. For instance, when students achieve a high accumulated score, it indicates the quality of education provided, and how well prepared they will be once they are in college. Students that score poorly will be ill equipped to handle the rigors of higher education, will be less likely to succeed, and will be more likely to drop out of college. While Tough does portray a gloom outlook for these students, he maintains that those faced with such obstacles should have a strong resolve to achieve

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