The Perceptions of High School Honor Students on the Academic Skills Needed to Succeed in College Science Classes

High school honor graduates at a rural high school in the Southeastern United States of America have not been as prepared for college science classes. At the research site, which is located in one rural high school, honor graduates have been experiencing difficulties with their freshman college science classes although these students were honors students in their high school science classes. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of high school honor students on the academic skills needed to succeed in college science classes. This qualitative case study was grounded in the brain-based theory of Caine and Caine. Twenty high school honor students participated in semi-structured face-to-face interviews and one theme emerged from the interview transcripts. The findings revealed that the most important academic skills for success in college science classes were problem solving, critical thinking, and how to study effectively skills. The implications of these findings for high school honor students are that the focus of the high school curricula should on the development of critical thinking, problem solving, and study skills.