A frequent objection to raising graduation standards and increasing rigor in high school is that students won’t be motivated to take harder courses or put forth the effort required to succeed. Raising standards, the argument goes, will simply alienate students and cause more of them to tune out.

But what do students themselves say about this? The answer is surprising: Many teenagers want to be more challenged by school and have a great deal of interest in taking rigorous academic courses, particularly if adults do a better job of helping them understand the link between the courses they take and what they need to succeed.

See the fact sheet for more. We also have provided a set of PowerPoint slides that you may download and use for your own presentations.