Listen "342. WHY COLLEGE READINESS MATTERS"
Episode Synopsis
Considering how much attention is focused on getting into college, you'd think people would be equally concerned with getting out of college… with a degree, of course. Sadly, the shockingly low six-year graduation rate suggests otherwise. Amy and Mike invited author and researcher Michael Petrilli to explore why college readiness matters. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What exactly does college readiness mean? How can college readiness best be measured? What is the risk for college students who don't meet readiness benchmarks? How can we best address lagging college readiness? How early in K-12 education should college readiness be addressed? MEET OUR GUEST Mike Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, executive editor of Education Next, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow for Education Commission of the States. An award-winning writer, he is the author of The Diverse Schools Dilemma, editor of Education for Upward Mobility, and co-editor of How to Educate an American. Follow Mike has published opinion pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg View, and Slate, and appears frequently on television and radio. Petrilli helped to create the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement, the Policy Innovators in Education Network, and, long, long ago, Young Education Professionals. He serves on the advisory boards of the Association of American Educators, MDRC, and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. He lives with his family in Bethesda, Maryland. Mike previously appeared on this podcast in episode 180 to discuss The Heightened Need For Testing In 2021. Find Mike at https://fordhaminstitute.org or in Twitter @MichaelPetrilli. LINKS College Readiness Benchmarks Using the National Assessment of Educational Progress as an Indicator for College and Career Preparedness The college readiness battle is won or lost in elementary school We all agree that college isn't for everyone. We should start acting like it American Diploma Project RELATED EPISODES DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER: WHAT TESTING TELLS US TRACKING COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS WHERE MODERN EDUCATION FAILS ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.
More episodes of the podcast Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Podcast
697. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: December 2025
19/12/2025
696. NEW WAYS TO USE YOUR 529 PLAN
16/12/2025
694. TEST PREP PROFILE: Lucy Zhang
11/12/2025
693. TEST PREP PROFILE: Roman Marchenko
10/12/2025
692. TEST PREP PROFILE: Angie Kelley
09/12/2025
691. TEST PREP PROFILE: Jonah Fishel
08/12/2025
690. SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: MentoMind
05/12/2025
689. LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES 101
02/12/2025
688. EXTEMP WITH AMY & MIKE: November 2025
28/11/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.