"To compete in a global economy, our students must continue their education beyond high school. To make this expectation a reality, we must give students the tools they need to succeed, including the opportunity to take a college entrance exam"
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Granholm links the fate of individual students to the competitiveness of the nation, arguing that a high school diploma is no longer enough in a globalized, knowledge-driven economy. When capital and talent move across borders and technology automates routine work, the wage premium for postsecondary education grows. The floor of opportunity rises: to get a foothold in the middle class, students increasingly need college or career credentials that signal advanced skills, adaptability, and the capacity to keep learning.
The call to provide tools, especially access to a college entrance exam, reflects a practical lever for expanding opportunity. As governor of Michigan in the mid-2000s, Granholm backed policies that embedded the ACT within the state assessment system, paid for by the state and taken during the school day. That move addressed hidden barriers that disproportionately hit low-income and first-generation students: test fees, transportation, confusing registration, and the social signal that college is for someone else. Universalizing the exam reframes it from a private hurdle to a public good, normalizing a college-going culture and giving every student a score that can open doors. It also supplies data to students, families, and schools about readiness, helping align curricula with college expectations in a state reeling from manufacturing losses and seeking to retrain its workforce.
There is tension here. Standardized tests are limited proxies for potential and can reflect inequities in prior schooling. But denying access does not fix those inequities; it simply closes a gate. Granholm’s emphasis implies a broader toolkit: rigorous coursework, counseling, test preparation, dual enrollment, and financial aid navigation, with the exam as one piece. The deeper message is about responsibility and aspiration. If society expects young people to step into a more demanding economy, institutions must lower procedural barriers and raise academic support so that expectation becomes attainable rather than rhetorical.
The call to provide tools, especially access to a college entrance exam, reflects a practical lever for expanding opportunity. As governor of Michigan in the mid-2000s, Granholm backed policies that embedded the ACT within the state assessment system, paid for by the state and taken during the school day. That move addressed hidden barriers that disproportionately hit low-income and first-generation students: test fees, transportation, confusing registration, and the social signal that college is for someone else. Universalizing the exam reframes it from a private hurdle to a public good, normalizing a college-going culture and giving every student a score that can open doors. It also supplies data to students, families, and schools about readiness, helping align curricula with college expectations in a state reeling from manufacturing losses and seeking to retrain its workforce.
There is tension here. Standardized tests are limited proxies for potential and can reflect inequities in prior schooling. But denying access does not fix those inequities; it simply closes a gate. Granholm’s emphasis implies a broader toolkit: rigorous coursework, counseling, test preparation, dual enrollment, and financial aid navigation, with the exam as one piece. The deeper message is about responsibility and aspiration. If society expects young people to step into a more demanding economy, institutions must lower procedural barriers and raise academic support so that expectation becomes attainable rather than rhetorical.
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| Topic | Student |
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