The Education Department has declared the state of Indiana the seventh highest high school graduation rate in the country. In the 2013-2014 school year, 87.9 percent of students graduated. In Northwest Indiana, the high school graduation rate traveled from below the state average in 2010, to above the state average in 2014, and now 92-percent of Northwest Indiana public high school seniors graduated from high school.

  However, the majority of them will not receive a college degree.

  Nationally, the average of adults between the ages 25-64 who have a college degree is 40-percent. Indiana is below the state average with only 34.7-percent of adults having a college degree. According to the Lumina Foundation which conducts these studies, Lake County is even lower than the state average of Indiana and the average of the nation, with only 30.29-percent of adults having college degrees.

  So why is there a discrepancy? If Indiana students are academically successful enough to graduate from high school, why do they struggle so much in college or choose not to go to college at all?

  For many education analysts, the problem lays in Indiana’s education standards. Indiana was among the early adopters of Common Core, which drew criticism nation-wide for having standards that weren’t rigorous enough in math and English. Just last school year, however, Indiana adopted a new set of state standards by Governor Mike Pence, which are said to challenge students more in the classroom. The jury is still out on this, though. Critics of Pence say these standards too closely mirror the Common Core, and although they have been implemented for a year, the state hasn’t seen the effects of it on our graduation rate.

  Bishop Noll guidance counselor Ms. Michele Arnold has a theory for other schools in Indiana. It is important to keep in mind, she says, that the statistics listed above only apply to students from public schools, not private schools.

  “Students are able to graduate (or receive waivers) for just scraping by,” Arnold said. “Many schools also do not have as high of standards for their students and also for their teachers and the material they teach.”

  Arnold explains that there have been some stories about teachers passing students, because the administration asks them to, or because they are athletes. This affects the education of the students who are from these schools that are letting their students “scrape by.”

  Junior Julia Moroz believes there are more areas than just academics where public schools fail to prepare their students for college.

  “From personal experience, I know that many public schools allow students who haven’t even finished their junior year graduate early from high school. These students are not ready for the more rigorous curriculum in college, so they end up dropping out,” Moroz said.

  In a 2014 JourNoll study of Bishop Noll graduates’ college retention, there was a 79-percent first to second-year retention rate at four-year college. This is above the Indiana average of 75.5-percent, but it’s straddling the nation’s 77.1-percent retention average (NCHEMS Information center.

  However, students that choose the path of a rigorous high school curriculum say they actually do feel prepared for a successful college career. This year’s valedictorian Victoria Johnson said that each of her classes differs in difficulty, but she always learns something new in all of her classes.

  “Each teacher has their own style and methods,” she said. “The way they grade their students’ work is entirely up to them. They know the material and know what students are required to learn.”

  Moroz agreed. “I spend hours each day studying just so I can get an A in the class.”

  But Johnson believes that there is room for improvement with Indiana’s education standards, and according to the Lumina Foundation, Indiana should “[improve] the quality of student outcomes in terms of completion, learning and employment; align investments with state priorities and student needs; and create smarter pathways for students.”

  Arnold believes that improvements can some when the school holds responsible for the education of the students and when problems with the economy are fixed. According to Arnold, if a student is exposed to a life of parents who struggle to put food on the table, parents who cannot pay for test preparation courses, and parents who can’t even pay for vacations to the zoo or museums will not give these students the opportunity to expand their education at home because of the lack of money. Also, if a parent is not educated, this could possibly also affect their child’s lack of interest in academics.

  “Parents who are not as educated do not, generally speaking, thave the same level of vocabulary use and broad, in-depth conversation with their children,” Arnold said. “When children are not exposed to these things, there is less likelihood that they will be able to produce responses to what these tests look for.”

  Arnold explains that this is why the educational system needs to work to level the field and help students experience a better education at home.

  “We need to improve the economic situation of so many neighborhoods across Indiana and the country.”

   Arnold believes that this socio-economics plays a large factor among students and ultimately affecting their performance in school.

  “Students who are supplied with a lower quality education will usually not do as well on these tests,” said Arnold. “When students come from economically stable homes and neighborhoods, and attend quality schools, they have a far better chance of college success.”