Even when they do their work in high school, pass the MCAS, and get accepted-often with scholarships — to area colleges, many graduates of Boston high schools are struggling throughout freshman year at the university level, according to a study released earlier this month by the Boston Higher Education Partnership.

The study reported that one-third of students attending 11 area colleges and universities who graduated from Boston public schools were enrolled in at least one developmental English course, and half of them were taking at least one developmental math course. Furthermore, nearly 40 percent withdrew or failed those developmental courses.

Deborah Hirsch, BHEP Executive Director, said the study shows high schools may not fully understand exactly what needs to be done to prepare students for college.

“When the benchmark is MCAS and passing at minimal levels, it may be enough to graduate from high school, but it does not really mean that one is prepared for college math,” she said.

Hirsch said universities need to recognize a “shared responsibility” they have in maintaining better communication between themselves and public high schools.

The study also reported that the grades of public school graduates at the examined institutions — which included Berklee College, Bunker Hill Community College, Massachusetts College of Art, Suffolk College, the University of Massachusetts and Wheelock College — appeared to suffer because of long commutes from off-campus housing and working long hours to pay tuition.

Boston Public Schools spokesman Jonathan Palumbo BPS has implemented “fairly comprehensive” reforms at the high school level to prepare its students for college.

“We’ve adjusted our graduation requirements to be better aligned with higher ed requirements, and we’ve received a substantial amount of support from national corporations such as the [Bill and Melinda] Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation to support the infrastructure change,” Palumbo said, although he acknowledged a need for greater collaboration between public high schools and colleges.

“The public K-12 institutions need to do a little bit of a better job preparing students for higher education, and perhaps higher education institutions need to do a better job,” he said, in terms of providing staff prepared to assist “urban youth” with their unique needs.

Palumbo said the district was glad the study brought attention to public school students, who he thinks are sometimes overlooked in public policy decisions.

Ruth Shane, who coordinates communication between Boston University and area public schools as part of the Boston Public School Collaborative, said teachers play an important role in outlining and understanding expectations before and after high school graduation.

“There just isn’t sufficient communication across grade 12 to grade 13, from senior year in high school to freshman year in college, about what college expectations are,” Shane said.

Shane said the 40 to 60 Boston public high school graduates she advises at BU — which was not listed in the study – are succeeding.

“Like every incoming freshman, sometimes people have a little trouble getting oriented, but, as a group, the students I advise are doing quite well,” she said.

BU offers a scholarship to graduates of area public high schools who have a 3.5 GPA. Scholarship recipient College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Mary MacDonald said she attended the prestigious Boston Latin High School because she felt she would benefit more from the competitive environment at the school more than she would at a different Boston high school.

However, the transition has been difficult for MacDonald. She said every class she has taken at BU has been significantly more difficult than the primarily honors and Advanced Placement courses she took in high school.

“Before I started my freshman year at BU, I felt that I was prepared,” she said. “After a few days of class here, however, I realized I was not.

“Fortunately, I also have a lot of support here at BU,” she added.