Analysis: Socioeconomic Disparities, Core Competency Gaps, and Tertiary Preparedness
A critical examination of tertiary readiness reveals that structural curriculum expansion has not entirely eradicated academic underpreparedness among incoming university cohorts. While the addition of specialized tracks in senior high school was intended to align foundational learning with tertiary requirements, comprehensive reviews indicate substantial cognitive gaps in core competencies, particularly in advanced mathematics, scientific reasoning, and academic language proficiency [2]. Proponents of curriculum reform argue that prolonged secondary schooling broadens career orientation and offers vital track specialization, which theoretically softens the transition into higher education disciplines. However, this argument tends to overlook how disparate institutional resources and unequal distribution of cultural and economic capital undermine standardized outcomes across diverse educational settings [1]. When secondary institutions face varying degrees of pedagogical support and instructional materials, students acquire uneven levels of conceptual mastery, leaving many ill-equipped for rigorous tertiary expectations. Consequently, institutional assumptions regarding universal readiness fail to account for the deep-seated socioeconomic determinants that mediate student success. Without targeted interventions that bridge specific disciplinary deficits and support underprivileged learners, the secondary curriculum continues to transfer remediation burdens directly onto higher education institutions [1], [2].