Atlantic City High Preps Student Athletes to Take SAT’s

There is a program going on at Atlantic City High School that’s prepping student athletes who’s grades are lacking in taking their SAT’s so as to be able to enter college...and play collegiate sports.

Gifted athletes who’s grades would fall below the line acceptable for college admission are being prepped to take the college exams under a program administered by the athletic department and academic staff to make sure all student athletes understand what the NCAA requirements are in order to attend college.

Sound fugazy to you?

Here’s what I think:

While I understand the urgency on the part of the student athletes to do well on their entrance exams…the most troubling aspect of all this is that it seems too little too late.

In other words, if admission to college were so important so as to be able to play college football, basketball, etc., then why not have applied yourself throughout the 4 years you were in school to begin with?

And by taking the SAT's in a practice run...have you really learned anything, or is all you've learned how to take a test?

According to this:

They are sitting in classrooms practicing for the standardized tests that will determine if their academic prowess, matched with their athletic skills, will get them into college and maybe earn a scholarship to help pay for it.

The new Summer Institute for Student Athletes is a collaboration between the athletic department and academic staff to make sure all student athletes understand the NCAA requirements for college and can meet them.

Thomas Kelly, a 1992 graduate of Atlantic City High School who went on to play football at Rutgers University said, “We want to build a program through academics before they even get out on the field or the court,” “We’ve been preaching the importance of academics. Now we are putting it into practice.”

The program developed out of the frustration staff would feel when a talented athlete couldn’t attend college or get scholarships because of poor grades or SAT scores.

Don “Dr. Don” Coleman, a math teacher at the high school and coordinator of the academic portion of the program, said….“Recruiters come look, then can’t offer them anything because they aren’t academically eligible.”

Basketball coach Eugene Allen said. “We’ve always had some great athletes,” “But now we have to work more on the academic component, and we want to start stressing it earlier.”

I look at that line of reasoning and say to myself, “….yes, start stressing it earlier…like when a student is in freshman year so that he or she has already developed the prioritization of good study habits, so that this last minute “cramming” wouldn’t be necessary.

Do you feel classes designed to prep high school athletes to take the SAT’s in order to gain admission to college are misguided?