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Losses during the transition to high school put many students who began high school with a strong record of academic achievement out of range for likely admission to selective or highly selective colleges. Source: Seeskin, A., Nagaoka, J., & Mahaffie, S. Hidden risk: Changes in GPA across the transition to high school. Sep 05, 2013 Myth: Real-life high school is just like high school on TV and in movies. If new high school students think that they are entering one giant Mean Girls movie or that their day will fly by in a montage like in the high school 80s movie The Breakfast Club, they will find themselves to be sadly mistaken.

The path to and through high school and college is riddled with misguided notions and outdated assumptions about what students should know, do, and focus on in order to maximize their chances for success. Fortunately, more than a decade’s worth of research and data from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research has helped solidify the facts and dispel myths about what it takes to make it to and through college.

MYTH: Students’ freshman year course performance drops because their coursework becomes more difficult.

Existing research suggests the declines in students' grades between 8th and 9th grade cannot be explained by changes in the difficulty of students' coursework. Students' grades decline in part because of developmental and environmental challenges that they face during the transition to high school. Freshmen must adjust to new teachers, peers, environments, and expectations all at once, and they often receive less personal attention and support from teachers and other school staff in ninth grade than they did in elementary school. Challenges like these affect non-cognitive factors like students' academic identity, emotional well-being, and sense of belonging in school, which influence their grades through effects on their attendance and study habits. In 2014, UChicago Consortium researchers concluded that more than 85 percent of the gap in CPS students' Math and English performance between 8th and 9th grade could be explained by changes in their attendance and self-reported study habits, and that almost none of the gap could be attributed to changes in the difficulty of their coursework.

Sources: Farrington, C.A., Roderick, M., Allensworth, E.M., Nagaoka, J., Keys, T.S., Johnson, D.W. & Beechum, N.O. (2012). Teaching adolescents to become learners: The role of noncongnitive factors in shaping schools performance. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Rosenkranz, T., de la Torre, M., Stevens, W.D., & Allensworth, E.M. (2014). Free to fail or on-track to college: Why grades drop when students enter high school and what adults can do about it. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: We don’t need to worry about students who enter high school with high eighth grade grades and test scores.

All students are at risk of seeing significant declines in their GPA in core courses (English, Math, Science, and Social Studies) in the transition to high school, even students with strong eighth grade grades and test scores. In fact, fewer than half of students who earned a 3.0 in eighth grade earn a 3.0 in ninth grade. These declines in GPA for high-achieving students mat-ter because high school grades are a critical component of students’ college access and college readiness. Losses during the transition to high school put many students who began high school with a strong record of academic achievement out of range for likely admission to selective or highly selective colleges.

Source: Seeskin, A., Nagaoka, J., & Mahaffie, S. (2018). Hidden risk: Changes in GPA across the transition to high school. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: Eighth grade test scores are the best predictors of ninth grade performance.

Eighth grade test scores are strong predictors of high school test scores, but they are not strong predictors of high school course performance. Only a third of students with high test scores in eighth grade go on to earn a B average in high school. Students’ middle school attendance and grades are much stronger predictors of ninth grade GPA than their test scores.

Source: Allensworth, E., Gwynne, J., Moore, P., & de la Torre, M. (2014). Looking forward to high school and college: Middle grade indicators of readiness in Chicago Public Schools. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

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MYTH: Failing a non-core class like Art or PE in the ninth grade is no big deal — it doesn’t really affect students’ odds of graduating from high school.

A non-core course failure is just as detrimental as a core course failure to students’ likelihood of graduating from high school. For recent cohorts of CPS students, all course failures in ninth grade, regardless of subject area, were associated with large decreases in students' likelihood of graduating from high school. The graduation rate for students with one core course failure and no other failures in ninth grade was 70%; for students with one non-core course failure and no other failures, the graduation rate was very similar, at 68%. Students who passed all of their courses during freshman year of high school, however, had a 90% chance of graduating within four years.

Source: Seeskin, A., Nagaoka, J., & Mahaffie, S. (2018). Hidden risk: Changes in GPA across the transition to high school. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: Students always do better academically when they attend a selective enrollment school.

Families put lots of time and resources into determining which high school will be the best fit for their students. There is a popular perception that all students benefit when attending the highest-performing school to which they have access. However, research in Chicago found that while all selective enrollment high school students reported more positive high school experiences (e.g. feelings of personal safety and positive relationships with teachers and peers), selective high school admission had no effect on test scores, regardless of neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES). In fact, students from low SES neighborhoods who are admitted to a selective high school are 16 percentage points less likely to attend a selective college than students from low-SES neighborhoods who applied to a selective school but were not admitted.

Source: Barrow, L., Sartain, L., & de la Torre, M. (2016). The role of selective high schools in equalizing educational outcomes: Heterogeneous effects by neighborhood socioeconomic status. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: Students’ grades drop more in core courses like English, Math, and Science than non-core courses like Physical Education (PE) and the Arts between the eighth and ninth grades.

Declines in students' academic performance between the eighth and ninth grades are not limited to their grades in the core subject areas. In fact, GPA declines in the two non-core courses common to both the eighth and ninth grades—Arts and PE/Health—greatly exceed average declines in each of the core subject areas. In eighth grade, most students earn As and Bs in Arts and PE/Health but, in ninth grade, their grades in these subject areas fall to below a B average. Students see their grades fall by an average of 0.81 GPA points in PE between the eighth and ninth grades, and by 0.61 points in Arts—and Black and Latino young men see particularly disproportionate average GPA losses in the non-core subject areas. The Arts grades of Black young men fall by more than three-quarters of a point between the eighth and ninth grades, and their PE/Health grades fall a full point.

Source: Seeskin, A., Nagaoka, J., & Mahaffie, S. (2018). Hidden risk: Changes in GPA across the transition to high school. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: It's better for students to take a lighter course load in the ninth grade than to take on too much.

While most CPS students enroll in seven courses in their freshman year, those who earn only five credits, regardless of whether or not they’ve failed a course, are unlikely to graduate. Students who earn seven credits during their freshman year of high school are twice as likely as their peers who earn only five credits to graduate from high school within four years.

Source: Seeskin, A., Nagaoka, J., & Mahaffie, S. (2018). Hidden risk: Changes in GPA across the transition to high school. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: When freshmen fail classes, they learn important lessons about actions and consequences.

There is no evidence that students who fail classes during freshman year dramatically improve their performance during the rest of high school. When freshmen fail core or non-core classes, their chance of graduating is greatly reduced. With each failed semester course in fresh-man year, a student’s chance of graduating drops by 15 percent. Although students have opportunities to retake classes and make up credits, catching up to peers is diff-icult work and each class failure keeps a student further behind. Failing a class can cause feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment that make it very difficult for students to recover credits at a time when belonging is really important to them developmentally. The most important lessons students can learn during freshman year are the study habits, mindsets, and positive academic identities that will equip them for the rest of high school and college.

Sources: Farrington, C. A. (2014). Failing at school: Lessons for redesigning urban high schools. New York, NY: Teacher’s College Press. Nagaoka, J., Farrington, C., Ehrlich, S., & Heath, R. (2015). Foundations for young adult success: A developmental framework. Chicago:, IL University of Chicago Consortium on School Research Allensworth E. M., & Easton, J. Q. (2007). What matters for staying on-track and graduating in Chicago public high schools. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research.

MYTH: Freshman grades don’t matter all that much for college.

Freshman year is not only predictive of high school graduation, but also has a strong correlation with college enrollment and persistence. Moreover, GPA at the end of freshman year is strongly correlated with 11th grade GPA, which is the GPA submitted on college applications. Among students with similar prior achievement who attended the same high school, 70 percent of students with mostly As in ninth grade en-rolled in college, compared to 50 percent of students with mostly Cs in ninth grade.

Source: Easton, J.Q., Johnson, E., & Sartain, L. (2017). The predictive power of ninth-grade GPA. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: By the time students reach high school, they should take full responsibility for what they need to do to succeed.

Fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds entering high school are still very much adolescents, and adolescent brains are still developing. Their pre-frontal cortex is still forming, so adolescents struggle with executive functioning, which means that skills like organization, time management, and long-term planning do not come naturally to them. In addition, adolescents are deeply engaged in the process of forming an identity, and their sense of themselves as learners and as people at this stage of development is highly malleable. All of this developmental context means that it is important for teachers to support students in developing the executive functioning skills they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond. This means ensuring students build their academic skills and habits, such as completing homework and participating in class, and receive the message that they are capable of succeeding in school.

Sources: Farrington, C. A. (2014). Failing at school: Lessons for redesigning urban high schools. New York, NY: Teacher’s College Press. Nagaoka, J., Farrington, C.A., Ehrlich, S.B., Heath, R.D., Johnson, D.W., Dickson, S., & Hayes, K. (2015). Foundations for young adult success: A developmental framework. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research

MYTH: Many freshmen go on to improve their GPAs during sophomore and junior years.

Ninth grade is the year when students develop habits and behaviors that persist through the rest of high school, and even through college. Since 9th grade GPA is highly predictive of 11th grade GPA, a student who is successful in 9th grade is more likely to be successful in later years. A student who does not do well in the ninth grade can recover, but will likely remain on the trajectory established in the freshman year. Starting strong in high school is crucial for finishing strong at graduation.

Sources: Easton, J.Q., Johnson, E., & Sartain, L. (2017). The predictive power of freshman year high school GPA. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Rosenkranz, T., de la Torre, M., Stevens, W.D., & Allensworth, E.M. (2014). Free to fail or on-track to college: Why grades drop when students enter high school and what adults can do about it. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: As long as a student’s grades are strong enough to graduate from high school, GPAs don’t really matter.

The GPA that gets you into college is not the GPA that gives you the skills to manage the academic demands of college. Strong grades are a sign that students are able to meet challenges and expectations, and are developing the skills they need to handle new academic challenges in the future. Students may be admitted to some colleges with less than a 3.0 GPA, but only students who enter college with a high school GPA of 3.0 or above have greater than a 50 percent chance of earning a four-year college degree within six years of graduating high school.

Sources: Easton, J.Q, Johnson, E., & Sartain, L. (2017). The predictive power of ninth-grade GPA. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Allensworth, E., & Easton, J.Q. (2007). What matters for staying on-track and graduating in Chicago public high schools: A close look at course grades, failures, and attendance in the freshman year. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Roderick, M., et al. (2006). From high school to the future: A first look at Chicago public school graduates’ college enrollment, college preparation, and graduation from four-year colleges. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: Not all “As” are created equal.

One of the most pervasive myths in secondary education is the belief that an A at a struggling school is inherently less meaningful than an A at a high-performing school. Often lurking behind this myth is the belief that it takes very little effort to get an A at an underperforming school. In fact, students’ high school grades are similarly predictive of their success in college, regardless of what high school they attended. Much of the difference in college outcomes between similarly-qualified students can be attributed to institutional effects of the colleges students attend.

Source: Roderick, M., Holsapple, M., Clark, K., & Kelley-Kemple, T. (forthcoming). From high school to the future: Delivering on the dream of college graduation. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: Standardized test scores are better indicators than grades of how well high schools are preparing students for college.

Research shows considerable variation by high school in college graduation rates for students with either the same GPAs or the same ACT scores. However, high school GPAs show a very strong relationship with college graduation despite sizable school effects, and the relationship does not differ across high schools. In contrast, the relationship between ACT scores and college gradua-tion is weak-to-nothing once school effects are controlled, and varies depending on the high school a student attends. As researchers and policymakers evaluate practices designed to improve college readiness, these findings suggest that strong reliance on standardized test scores could lead to inaccurate assessments of how well high schools are preparing students for college, and that practitioners and families should rely mostly on students’ GPAs when evaluating students’ college readiness.

MYTH: The hardest part of college is getting in — once you're in, you're set.

Even students who are admitted to college and are academically well prepared for college can struggle along the way to their degrees. Colleges that have an institutional culture where administrators, faculty, and staff see it as their role to provide support in the transition to college can be particularly beneficial for students who didn’t grow up in contexts where college-going is the norm. Colleges can support students by tailoring orientation sessions, providing additional counselors and mentors, en-suring students are enrolling in classes that lead to degrees, being responsive to financial needs, and encouraging first-generation students to connect with each other and with affinity groups. Absent supports, it’s easy for students to fall off track: currently just 11 percent of low-income students who are the first in their family to attend college earn their degrees within six years of enrolling in college.

Sources: Day, B.J., et al. (2015). Proceedings from the Association for the Study of Higher Education 2015 Annual Conference: Inside the Black Box of College Match: The Academic, Social, and Institutional Experiences of High-Achieving, Urban High School Graduates in College. Denver, CO: Conference Paper Presented November 6, 2015. Engle, J., & Tinto, V. (2008). Moving beyond access: College success for low-income, first-generation students. The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education.

MYTH: A student’s odds of graduating from college will be the same at any of the colleges he or she is admitted to.

Students of all qualification levels are more likely to graduate from college if they attend a college with a high institutional graduation rate. This is even true for students with strong grades in high school; in fact, college choice matters the most for students with strong academic qualifications. Ultimately, institutional graduation rates are just one factor to consider in finding a good college match, but they can signal to college-bound students how well the institutions they’re interested in are able to support students in their quests to persist through and graduate from college.

Sources: Roderick, M., et al. (2008). From high school to the future: Potholes on the road to college. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Nagaoka, J., & Healey, K. (2016). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: 2015: A focus on four-year college degrees. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: Standardized test scores are the most important indicator of success in college.

A good ACT or SAT score isn’t a slam dunk for college success. While ACT/SAT scores matter for college access, grades (GPAs) are much more predictive of college success. In fact, strong grades—earning As and Bs in high school—are the strongest indicator of college readiness and are much more predictive of college grad-ation than any test score. High school GPAs show a very strong relationship with college graduation despite sizable school effects, and the relationship does not differ across high schools. In contrast, the relationship between ACT scores and college graduation is weak-to nothing once school effects are controlled. Students with an ACT score of 21-23 have about a 50 percent chance of graduating college if their high school GPA is between 2.5 and 2.9. Yet students with ACT scores in the same range of 21-23 but with high school GPAs between 3.0 and 3.4 graduate from college at rates of nearly 70 percent.

Sources: Allensworth, E.M., & Clark, K. (2018). Are GPAs an inconsistent measure of achievement across high schools? Examining assumptions about grades versus standardized test scores (Working Paper). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Healey, K., et al. (2014). The educational attainment of Chicago Public Schools students: A focus on four-year college degrees. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

MYTH: Good students will succeed anywhere.

The idea that good students will be successful wherever they go to college is deeply intuitive, and appeals to our inclination to center student success solely in the student. However, institutions do play a role in college completion and, the higher a student's academic qualifications, the more important college choice becomes. Specifically, students who attend more selective colleges and universities fare better with respect to college graduation than their similarly qualified peers who attend less selective schools.

MYTH: Sending students from low-performing high schools to elite colleges is just setting them up to fail.

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There is a belief amongst some educators that students from struggling high schools are not equipped to succeed academically at elite insti-tutions. While it is true that low-income and mi-nority students do experience many challenges at elite institutions, high-achieving students from any kind of CPS high school can absolutely succeed at the most selective colleges. Students who are high-achieving, low-income, minority, and/or first generation have proven their ability to be successful in the face of adversity. We should be ensuring that these students have access to our greatest opportunities, not withholding them.

High School Myths!

Looking back at my high school years, I am filled with bittersweet agony. I, like so many millions, looked forward to entering high school and did so with the best of intentions. However, I made a few missteps — a lot of which were a result of pressure built on by the numerous high school myths which filled my head from movies, T.V. and books which made high school look like some sort of a wild jungle party.

In the following, I will be debunking a few of them for every teen out there who is about to enter high school.

1. Only the popular kids have fun

No high school is anything like what we were shown in the movie Mean Girls! There is no elite group which runs the whole school. Yes, there will be certainly people who are more outgoing than others and have a wider circle of friends, but the truth is that most high schools are so big that people don’t really care about how popular you are. And there are not going to be crazy parties every weekend being thrown by this popular clique, with being invited to the party as some sort of acceptance criteria.

The idea is to find your group of friends or like-minded people and have the best time possible while focusing on learning as much as you can (and proving it with good grades). Most parties or hangouts are among close group of friends and are low key. The supreme power of the popular clique is a totally fake high school myth, unless your high school has like 30 kids in it total.

Do not enter high school with a mindset that you need to be part of any clique to survive that place. You just have to be yourself for the right kind of friends to like you just the way you are.

2. I’d better hide on Freshman Friday

I remember walking scared all day long on the first Friday of my high school year. All you freshmen out there, you may breathe a sigh of relief there is hardly such thing as a Freshman Friday any more! Especially since these days, bullying is on everyone’s radar and hazing is hardly acceptable any more.

It took me a whole day of holding my breath to realize everyone’s just too busy and don’t really care enough about the freshman to torture them. Some seniors might make you feel that they are superior to you in some ways, which they really aren’t except for their knowledge about the building. There might be some ragging or some people might pull a few pranks but people rarely get physical, unless you somehow end up involved with the wrong kind of kids — in which case get an adult involved if you do not feel safe or are bullied harshly.

Many high schools offer freshmen some sort of mentoring program to jump start their high school experience, so make sure you check out what your school has to offer before the school year starts.

3. Everyone drives a wicked cool car in high school

This is one of those high school myths which comes from just about every teen movie ever made. the trith is, not everyone comes to school in their own personal Benz or Mustang GT — most of the cars in the parking lot probably belong to the teachers or the staff.

Unless your parents got bucks, the usual way you get your first car is that you finish school, get a job and then get your own car, even if its a jalopy. Do not expect your parents to buy you a car automatically when you turn 16, and do not enter high school thinking you need a ride to impress people.

If you want to impress people, impress them with your talents and your personality.

4. Appearance is the key to acceptance

Yes, it is true that we become more aware of our sense of style and fashion in the high school years, but it certainly doesn’t mean you have to be on some sort of a bandwagon — even though Instagram tends to show otherwise!

It helps to look presentable and take care of your grooming, because that is just polite and also makes you feel good, but your style or the label on your clothing is not the key to your social life. Within a couple of weeks after school starts everyone gets so busy with exams, projects and other stuff that people hardly pay attention to what other people are wearing.

So no need to fret over what to wear every morning, just follow what is your true style or whatever you are in the mood for.

5. These are the best years of my life

A lot of teens enter high school thinking these are supposed to be the best years of their lives and they should live it up as much as they can before its all over. Boy, can this high school myth wreck your attitude when things don’t quite go that way.

Also, just because everyone seems to be dating, doesn’t mean you have to be in any hurry…because the best years are still to come. Your thirties and forties will be way better than this, believe me.

These are the years to make mistakes and not take things too seriously. I was so nervous about “being trapped” that I ended up being in an open relationship. I thought with this “no strings attached” kind of thing going I would be happy and free, but the truth is I ended up being miserable and multiple commitments even effected my grades. It was immoral, and I knew it, and regretted it.

High school can be a different sort of an experience for everyone. You shouldn’t enter high school with too many preconceived ideas. It is the best time to explore yourself, and what options you have for the future. Your college admission also depends on what you do in this time, so sacrifice a little here by hitting the books and it should pay off in the best years of your life later.

6. The only thing that matters is my grades

Another of the high school myths which should be debunked here is that teens often think “I don’t need to participate in extra-curricular activities; I should just focus on my grades.” This statement is completely false.

Colleges and Universities always look for well-rounded applicants. Even if you are the smartest kid in your school academically, colleges will debate whether they should accept you or not just because you did not participate in any extracurricular activities. Even without college plans, extracurricular activities teach you so much more than what books can. You get to learn patience, persistence and discipline, as well as develop artistically, athletically, and/or spiritually. These are desirable qualities and part of your life education, so do not focus only on your grades, but try something new to expand your horizons.

7. There is a gang of kids drinking, smoking and/or and doing drugs in every bathroom

I was terrified of entering bathrooms when I first went to high school, because nearly every movie I have ever seen shows a bunch of tough looking kids in leather jackets that hang out in bathrooms all day ready to beat nerds up in between drags of their cigarette or swigs of beer — or smoking weed and being stupid.

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While you may encounter a few kids here and there being naughty, this is rare. And definitely not like what you see in the movies. In fact, if teens are going to misbehave, they usually do it far away from teachers — meaning they wait until after school on their way home.

8. I don’t have to worry about the SAT or ACT until Senior year

Many students believe since they need their standardized test results just before they need to apply for college of their choice; they should wait until the very end to even think about these tests. Actually the earlier you prepare for your ACT and/or SAT exams, the better off you will be. There are plenty of resources for taking practice tests, study guides, and more online which will help you prepare. It is better to take the SATs as early as possible, as it gives you more time to restudy and retake the test for better scores.

This comes from personal experience.

9. I must strive to shine like a lone star

Another very interesting myth that is sometimes manifested is that the lone star shines the brightest. In truth, teens need to learn the importance of teamwork and getting along with people.

When working together, sometimes team members become competitive and try to outshine each other or focus only on their part in the project. There has been a paradigm shift in the corporate culture over the past few years. Every company now looks for a team player and wants to see how well you will blend in. Therefore, it is very important to participate in all sorts of group activities. High school is one of the best times to get exposed to the concept and don’t become an anti-social jerk just because “nobody gets me.” What are YOU doing that is making you so hard to “get?”

So, whenever you are part of a group don’t just focus on yourself and sulk in a corner or try to dominate: see how you can contribute to the success of the whole team.

10. I must lose my virginity in high school

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No you don’t. You also don’t need to do so in college either. The truth is, there are no 100 percent, across the boards rules about this. Instead, it kind of depends on your upbringing, your parent’s guidance, your cultural background, your religious beliefs, and even what part of the country you live in. Mots of all, it depends on your gut, and what makes your comfortable in accordance with the previous factors.

The point is…there is no rush.

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So there you have it. High school is what you make of it, and hopefully you will get to know yourself much better. It is a phase where some of the lessons you learn will stay with you for life, so do not let these high school myths spoil your experience for you.