California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott announced the creation of a Student Success Task Force in January that would assist in boosting college completion rates, according to a press release issued by the Chancellor’s office. The Task Force has met with college officials throughout the year and is in the process of drafting a list of recommendations to help improve the community college system.

The success of this effort is vital to both colleges and students. At Cosumnes River College alone, 22 percent of first-time, full-time students do not return for a second year, costing taxpayers a total of $1.5 million, according to the College Measures website.

However, while the Task Force is determined to make many changes at the college level, many of the existing problems start at a much earlier time—K-12.

Most states’ proficiency standards are at or below basic performance, according to a study conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics. Students are only demonstrating a partial mastery of key skills, such as reading and math, and are failing later in college.

As a result of the ineffectiveness of the public school system and community colleges, 10 countries have passed the U.S. in college completion rates, according to “A Blueprint for Reform,” a document released by the Obama administration in 2010 that outlines ideas for revising education. The report also recognizes that other countries “are being smarter about how to educate their students.”

In an increasingly competitive world, other countries have responded by creating an education system that works with students by challenging, motivating and offering them the tools necessary to succeed.

An example of this would be Italy’s education system. Italy has an elementary and middle-school equivalent to the U.S. but does not have a high school. Instead, they have the Liceo, Istituto Tecnico and the Istituto Professionale—specialized schools that are designed to prepare students for a career and assist in transferring into universities.

Policy makers need to be aware of the attitudes other countries have towards education. If not, the trend of increasing unit fees and limiting the amount of times students can repeat a course can only get worse.

California community colleges are the largest higher educational system in the country, serving nearly 2.6 million students a year, according to a press release issued by the Chancellor’s office. While the Task Force is already collaborating with K-12 to improve standards for college and career readiness, our policy makers should be aware that a more sweeping reform of the system might be necessary.

The success and future of the college system depends on the decisions of our policy makers and the recommendations made by the Task Force. However, the current college problems cannot be pinned on colleges alone, and public education should shoulder a greater responsibility in preparing students for college.