Missouri’s retiring Commissioner of Higher Education suggests the senior year of high school needs to be transformed into more of a transition year to college or to the workforce. Doctor Robert Stine has been writing about the movement to integrate elementary and secondary education with higher education into what is called a P-20 system. Part of that is redesigning the senior year of high school.

Stine says many students are academically ready but not socially ready to move on by the time they’re seniors. Others reach the senior year needing a lot of remedial help. Stine thinks the focus needs to be more on the individual student’s needs in that last year instead of treating all students the same during that year.

Stine says it has long been acknowledged that the senior year does not work very well for many students. He thinks reforming the approach to teaching and learning in that year will better prepare students for the workforce as well as for college.

Bob Priddy talks to Robert Stine 7:40 mp3