High School Graduation Standards

[Danner]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... &cset=true

I was reading the (Chicago) Trib at school today, and this story was on the front page. It is so sad that citizens of one of the world's democratic (like, the people do the ruling) superpowers aren't even required to know basic math. I took Algebra in 8th grade, and I don't understand how people can do simple things like balance their budgets and figure interest without it. (Oh, now I get why the budget deficiet is so large...)

BTW- This is not average for the country or state, but it is still so sad.

[missy]

Danner, can you cut and paste a little of the article - you have to register to read it.......

Missy

[Charlene]

The Spokane School District has tightened up the graduation requirements since my day. Here's what my daughter faces:

Each student graduating from the Spokane School District shall have completed the following credits and subject areas of study (each semester class = .5 credits)

Classes of 2005-2007 Classes of 2008-beyond Requirement

2.0 3.0 Mathematics

4.0 4.0 English

3.0 3.0 Social Studies

2.0 2.0 Science

1.0 1.0 Professional/Technical*

1.5 1.5 Fitness

0.5 0.5 Health

7.0 6.0 Electives

NA 1.0 Fine Arts

21.0 22.0 TOTAL MINIMUM


* Professional/Technical includes, but is not limited to: Home and Family Consumer Sciences, Professional-Technical Business, and Applied Technology.

(sorry if the columns don't line up - tried to cut and paste a table!)

Here's the URL for more details: http://www.spokaneschools.org/lewis_cla ... ements.htm

[Danner]

Sorry- I wasn't registered and I still got it, so I dunno what's up.

"The vast majority of Illinois school districts fall short of tough, new high school graduation requirements proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to a new state survey.

The survey of 443 districts with high schools, released this week by the Illinois State Board of Education, shows that 83 percent do not require the three years of math, two years of science and four years of language arts proposed for freshmen entering in 2008-09.

Only 77 districts, including Chicago Public Schools, already meet these standards.

Currently, the state requires 16 credits to graduate, which includes two years of math, one year of science and three years of language arts. Those are some of the lowest graduation standards nationwide, prompting Blagojevich to propose the reforms.

For example, in Harvard School District 50, high school students never have to take Algebra I--lower-level consumer math and pre-algebra classes suffice for graduation.

Even powerhouse New Trier Township High School District 203 doesn't require three years of math, though most students take that and more.

The legislation, which passed the state Senate last month and is expected to be considered by the state House this week, is a key initiative for the governor this legislative session.

For decades, lawmakers and school officials resisted changing graduation requirements, he said, in part because districts said they didn't have the money to increase staff and add courses. Some educators also thought the move would force all students into a college preparatory curriculum that some wouldn't want or need.

"But those arguments have changed," del Valle said, as competition for college and workplace demands have increased. "We want to make sure that no matter what part of the state a kid comes from, they will have access to curriculum that will prepare them to compete in the higher-education arena as well as in a career."

Nationwide, only six states, including Illinois, require three rather than four years of English to graduate. Only 13 states, including Illinois, require two years of math, rather than three, to get a diploma, according to a recent study by the non-profit Achieve Inc., in Washington, D.C. In addition, Illinois requires only one year of science to graduate, the lowest of the 42 states that set graduation standards.

Overall, state education officials expect the reforms to cost local districts about $50 million, for extra teachers, training and textbooks. The governor's office is working on a plan to funnel the money to districts over a five-year period, although education funding is in limbo because of the state's financial troubles.

To appease some lawmakers and school officials, the governor's office also has moved away from a proposal that students pass both Algebra I and geometry to graduate. Instead, the legislation now requires Algebra I and a course that must "include geometry content."

That type of course would likely exclude more difficult formal "proof" problems that colleges expect students to be able to do.

The Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics has cautioned state educators about setting only general requirements, such as three years of math. "You just don't want to say three years, because that could be three years of garbage," said Robert Urbain, president of the mathematics council.

Also in 2006-07, two years of "writing-intensive" courses would be added as a graduation requirement. Other graduation requirements would not change, including two years of social studies.

Figures released Tuesday show that of the 131,816 Illinois high school graduates in 2001-02, more than 51,000 enrolled in four-year universities, indicating they took more than the minimum to meet entrance requirements.

In New Trier District 203, "we require two years [of math] but almost everybody takes four years of math," said Assistant Supt. Linda Yonke. The lowest-level math class offered is Algebra I. The district already requires four years of English for students to graduate.

"I think that people's biggest reluctance to changing graduation requirements is that the top students are already exceeding and the kids negatively affected are kids that barely make it through high school," Yonke said.

Chicago already requires students to take four years of English, three years of math--including algebra and geometry--and three years of science.

Those requirements took effect in 1997, but on average, Chicago high school students still fare poorly on state tests and college entrance exams.

Only 32 percent of Chicago 11th graders passed the state's Prairie State Achievement Examination in 2003-04, and the class of 2004 averaged 16.9 out of a maximum of 36 on the ACT college entrance test.

"Is that where we want to be? Of course not," said Edward Klunk, a top administrator in Chicago's Office of High School Programs. However, the scores on both of those tests have been rising over the last few years, Klunk noted, which he attributes in part to higher graduation requirements.

The Illinois State Board of Education survey showed that the biggest problem in meeting the new requirements would be in math. Overall, 59 percent of school districts said they do not require three years of math to graduate, and 74 percent do not specify that Algebra I and geometry be taken.

Eighty-five percent of districts already require two years of science for graduation, but 49 percent of districts do not offer four years of English. Fifty-nine districts that have high schools did not respond to the survey."

I think your districts' standards are pretty reasonable, Charlene. (Of course, I think that arts should be make up 1/2 of the credits, but that's just my opinion. )

[Jack]

Sorry- I wasn't registered and I still got it, so I dunno what's up.

It does that to me all the time.

[missy]

ah - ok - thanks Danner......

I'm not sure what the Ohio class requirements are - I do know that the "Ohio Graduation Test" must be passed (Nate had to take what was termed the "9th Grade Proficiency Test" - but that changed for kids that are now in 10th grade).

Here's what my graduating senior needed:
4 Religion
4 English
4 Mathematics
4 Social Studies
4 Science(*)
1 Fine Art
0.5 Physical Education
0.5 Health
0.5 Inroduction to Computers
*(must include at least 1 credit in a biological science and 1 credit in a physical science)

Students are also required to take these courses:
Lifetime Skills, Study Skills and Standardized Test Prep. Students who, as freshmen, begin in either the honors or advanced college prep level (as determined by their freshman English placement) are required to include at least 2 consecutive credits of the same foreign language during their freshman and sophomore years as part of the 27.5 minimum graduation credits. All other students who choose to start a foreign language are required to earn at least two consecutive credits of the same foreign language as part of the 27.5 minimum graduation credits.

Additional graduation requirements for all classes:
Every senior is required to make a closed retreat. Also, each student is required to do a minimum of 40 total hours of Christian Service outside of regular school hours in order to graduate. At least 20 of those hours need to be Red Christian Service hours. "Red Christian Service" involves working for the homeless, poor, crippled, sick, elderly and all those struggling at this point of their lives. The remaining hours can also be Red Christian Service hours or they can be White Christian Service hours. "White Christian Service" involves activities such as work at parish, festival, park, school, and other community related activities. .



Missy

[Jack]

I never went to high school.

However, I am now in college and I have a perfect G.P.A (4.0).

Many of my classmates in college (who went to and graduated from high school) are...well...rather stupid.

Before starting college I honestly thought I'd be at a disadvantage because I didn't go to high school, but apparently a high school education in America doesn't help much.

[Danner]

Missy, I was thinking that those sounded like they might actually teach kids something, and wow, that's amazing. Then at the bottom you mentioned that it was a Catholic school... Oh, I knew it was too good to be true that a public school would actually require enough for a basic education.

Cran, that's wonderful that you can overcome your circumstances. What is your major, if you don't mind me asking?

[Jack]

Cran, that's wonderful that you can overcome your circumstances. What is your major, if you don't mind me asking?

Religion, philosophy, German, black studies (I'm not black but some of my family is and I've recently become aware of how important it is), psychology, or history. I'm still undeclared.

But I plan to go to grad school as soon as a graduate. For what? I don't know that, either!

[missy]

danner wrote:
" I knew it was too good to be true that a public school would actually require enough for a basic education."

Yeah - that's why I paid to send him there.

His younger brother will be going to a "magnet" public school for 9th grade next year (NOT my choice, it's his father's). This is a school that you have to take a test to get into, so we'll see how he does, and if he succeeds. He's coming from 2 years at a private, gifted school (which I would keep him at, if it was up to me). He's already had Algebra II, two years of Japanese, and quite a lot of higher level history and English, so it could get very interesting........

Missy

[Walden]

When my great grandmother was in high school, the requirement was 15 credits. By the time my father was in high school it was 20. By the time I was in high school the "we've gotta increase our standards" movement was at such full-tilt that the school had to increase the number of "hours" in the school day. This was accomplished by knocking a few minutes off of each. More recently, some of the schools have gone to using block sessions, in order to try and cope with the ever-expanding goals of those who just can't bear the thought that the USA isn't the absolute highest-performing country in the world, academically. No wonder some kids come out ignorant (as if it weren't inevitable that some would do poorly), as much as we're trying to cram into them.

[OutOfBreath]

I remember once seeing a test that kids were required to pass to graduate in a small Missouri community in the late 19th century. Most of today's college graduates could probably not pass that test. I'm reasonably well educated and at least as bright as your average bear yet I was able to answer only about 60 percent of the questions correctly.

I find it interesting that kids crammed into a one-room "all grades" school taught by a single teacher (for about 80 kids) were able to learn so much when today we spend millions to graduate kids who can barely write their own names!

[chas]

[rant]
I think this whole "raising standards for everybody" movement is just going to drive more kids away from school, increase the dropout rate, etc. If every kid has all of every day crammed with academic lessons, where are all our machinists and welders going to come from? Somebody has to clean buildings, pave roads, and all that. EVERY kid doesn't need all this math, science, language arts, etc. It would be much better if the slow kids were taught a little bit of stuff very thoroughly than what they get now, which is a whole bunch of stuff they'll never learn. For example, addition and subtraction, basic reading skills, etc. Our pols all complain that kids are graduating without these skills, but the fact of the matter is, if they don't have them by fifth or sixth grade, they're not instructed in them anymore. Kid can't read? Let's put him in a writing-intensive "lauguage arts" class. Can't add and subtract? Let's put her in geometry.

In the meantime, everybody's bemoaning the loss of our manufacturing base. You know what? That's in part due to "raising standards for everybody" while sacrificing training in useful skills (vocational-technical, e. g.).

Example: I was in a fast-food place several months ago. My bill was $3.95, and I gave the kid a five. Her cash register messed up, and she didn't know what to do. I said, "$1.05." Answer: Huh? Me: you owe me a dollar five. Her: You mean you memorized that? WOW!

That's an 18-year-old who never learned to add and subtract, and has zero memory. But she was in a state where you can't drop out till your 18th birthday, has loads of academic requirements for graduation, and still turns out an alarming number of kids like that one. They've virtually eliminated VoTech education, too, in favor of more rigorous academics that won't do a bit of good for probably half the population.

[/rant]

[anniemcu]

I remember once seeing a test that kids were required to pass to graduate in a small Missouri community in the late 19th century. Most of today's college graduates could probably not pass that test. I'm reasonably well educated and at least as bright as your average bear yet I was able to answer only about 60 percent of the questions correctly.

I find it interesting that kids crammed into a one-room "all grades" school taught by a single teacher (for about 80 kids) were able to learn so much when today we spend millions to graduate kids who can barely write their own names!

Again, this is one of the main reasons we chose to homeschool our kids.

[Walden]

My father attended a one-room county school, through the 3rd grade. When the school consolidated with the city school (is a community of 500 people a city? NancyF knows what school I'm talking about) he was lost. He sat there crying. The teacher asked him out in the hall, and in the privacy asked him what was the matter. He said he didn't know what vowels were. She allowed she was surprised, as the kids who come in from the country schools were usually "ahead of the other kids."

How the school had functioned was that the older students were expected to teach reading to the younger.