The emotional effects of this first encounter with challenge are often devastating, and often the (incorrect) logic goes like this: I was smart in high school. I know that because everything was so easy. Now I'm in college and it's hard. I guess I'm not as smart as I thought I was.
The problem is rarely interpreted as "gee, now I have to figure out how to learn."
As a rule, I have two kinds of students that don't end up in this trap. The first group is the honor students. These students have 3-5 AP credits across multiple disciplines (Calculus and Spanish, for instance), they often have juggled earning 'A's in school with work or significant involvement in athletics or other activities. They tackled challenges in high school and succeeded. The second group is transfer students from community colleges or branch campuses. Their high school grades often weren't good enough to get into main campus as freshmen. They often carry remedial math on their transcripts, sometimes 2-3 times. They have been juggling work and long commutes with their course load. A lot come in with yellow sheets for me to sign on the first day (a form from the disabilities office for more time on tests, or other accommodations, a sign of either dyslexia, ADHD, or other significant struggle to overcome).
The thing that both groups have in common is that they’ve had to confront challenging situations on a daily basis. They’ve picked their way through something that probably seemed daunting at the beginning, but with daily struggle and appropriate support and instruction, they’ve achieved.
So when I talk to a teacher about my child’s progress in school and the need for challenge, this is what I have in mind. My kids need work that might seem daunting at the beginning, but given appropriate support, and instruction, they can tackle the work and see their success in the end. I have not found that the occasional “challenge packet,” or being set off in the back of the room with a different textbook to be effective solutions, as either the frequency, support, or instruction are lacking.