Education and mobility:The way up

ON A recent afternoon Osbaldo Hernandez, 18, sat beaming in the college counsellors’ office of Hancock High School. Almost all the students at Hancock, on Chicago’s south-west side, are Hispanic. Osbaldo is one of a lucky batch to be accepted to Monmouth College in western Illinois. The son of immigrants, Osbaldo would not be the first in his family to enroll in college. But he could be the first to graduate.

近日的一个午后，十八岁的奥斯巴尔多·赫尔南德兹坐在汉考克高中学校辅导员办公室里，脸上洋溢着灿烂的笑容。汉考克高中位于芝加哥西南部，该校绝大部分学生都是美籍西裔。在伊利诺斯州西部蒙默斯学院今年的录取名单中，奥斯巴尔多幸运地成为了其中一名。这个来自移民家庭的孩子并不是家里唯一一位考上大学的，但却很可能是这个家庭中第一位能从大学顺利毕业的。

College is a crucial rung on the economic ladder. In 2007 graduates earned 77% more per hour than those with only a high-school degree. The share of poor teenagers aspiring to college tripled from 1980 to 2002. Nevertheless, rich, stupid children are more likely to graduate than poor, clever ones. Sadly, the increase in the proportion of Americans who graduate from college has slowed.

在个人经济收入的纵向分布阶梯上，大学教育无疑是其中至关重要的一级。2007年的数据表明，大学毕业生比高中生平均每小时多收入77%。1980年到2002年，希望上大学的贫穷学生比例增长了两倍。但是，学习较差但家庭富裕的学生的大学毕业率仍然高于较聪明的贫穷孩子。更可悲的是，美国大学毕业生比例的增长速度已在逐渐减缓。

Barack Obama wants America to have the world’s highest proportion of college graduates by 2020. New reforms aim to make college more affordable. High schools might also try a simpler tactic: help students such as Osbaldo apply to colleges worthy of them.

巴拉克·奥巴马希望2020年全美大学毕业生比例居全世界首位。全新的改革措施也旨在让更多人能够负担起大学教育。另外，高中也可以执行一项更简单的措施——帮助像奥斯巴尔多这样的高中生申请适合的大学。

Though some students are ill-prepared for university, many go to colleges that are not demanding enough. This makes them more likely to drop out, explains William Bowen, a former president of Princeton, who co-wrote a book on completion rates. Black boys who go to rigorous colleges graduate at higher rates than do similar peers at easier ones.

尽管很多学生申请就读的大学入学要求并不太高，但还是有部分学生根本没有准备好接受大学高等教育。普林斯顿大学前校长威廉·鲍文认为，正是因为准备不足让学生们更容易在大学半途辍学。威廉鲍文去年10月（译者加）刚与另外两位作者合作出版了一本关于大学毕业率的书。要求较高的大学里的黑人男生比起要求较低的院校中的同龄学生来说毕业率更高。更多信息请访问：http://www.24en.com/

In Chicago only a third of local students who aspire to college enroll in ones that match their skills. Parents worry about cost, but know little about loans. Clever students often fail even to apply to four-year universities. Diana Lopez, one of Hancock’s brightest, says that her mother urged her to attend a two-year vocational “community” college.

在芝加哥，只有三分之一的当地学生能够被与其能力相当的大学录取。家长们对大学学费忧心忡忡，但是对大学贷款却一无所知。甚至非常聪明的学生也通常申请不到四年制大学。戴安娜·洛佩慈是汉考克高中最优秀的学生，但是她妈妈却硬要她去读一所两年制的职业 “社区”学院。

The city, responding to data from the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago, is tackling this problem. Measures include workshops for parents, better counselling and a system to make sure students meet loan deadlines. The University of Chicago is supporting a network of principals and counsellors, including those at Hancock. A new “pipeline” project links good students with private Midwestern colleges. Osbaldo’s Monmouth College is one of these. And what is good for Osbaldo is good for America, too.

面对芝加哥大学“芝加哥学校研究社群”所提供的一系列数据，芝加哥正在努力解决这一问题。众多措施中包括开展家长研讨会、提供更好的咨询服务以及建立一个确保学生能在贷款期限内还款的体制。目前，芝加哥大学正在筹建一个囊括各校校长和辅导员的社交网络，当然也包括汉考克高中。这样一来，全新的“管道”项目将会在优秀的学生和中西部私立大学之间搭起一座桥梁，录取奥斯巴尔多的蒙默斯学院就在项目之中。其实，对奥斯巴尔多有利的，也就是对美国有利的。