Establishing the standards by which high school students demonstrate that they are ready for the world is not a straightforward task. The variation in student proficiency, interest area and post-graduation plans is wide, and while college opens the widest range of options – as well as the highest earning potential over a lifetime – it is not every student’s choice. Ensuring that high school graduates are prepared for success in college or in post-high school careers must consider this range without short-changing any student on the spectrum. Setting high standards will position graduates for maximum success, regardless of their path after high school.
A state work group tasked with advising the Colorado Board of Education on graduation standards – how students demonstrate their acumen, and align those requirements with the knowledge and skills colleges and employers are seeking from applicants – is considering a rollback of the graduation requirements adopted in 2013. The group should stay the course set for full implementation in 2021. Those high standards will ensure students the broadest range of options to maximize their success in adulthood.
Colorado is among just three states that lacks statewide graduation requirements – an ailment the Board of Education remedied with the 2013 standards that will first apply to the class of 2021. Those require students to demonstrate proficiency in English, math, science and social studies, as measured by an approved assessment strategy. There is a range of such options available including SAT or ACT scores, state tests, industry certifications and military entrance exams. The proposed rollback, according to a story in The Denver Post on Sunday, would eliminate the science and social studies requirements. Doing so would be a disservice to Colorado’s students.
Nearly 40 percent of Colorado high school graduates attending college required remedial education in 2012, and while that number dropped from 41.4 percent in 2011, it suggests a significant gap between what higher education expects and what K-12 produces. By setting – and, of course, achieving – rigorous standards for those seeking diplomas, the Board of Education will do much to close that gap. The 2013 requirements were developed with that aim in mind. Maintaining that high threshold should be a priority for the advisory group.
Those who support the rollbacks, according to the Post, maintain that college entrance exams do not require science and social studies proficiency, and while that may be true, knowledge in those subject areas is instrumental to many first-year college courses, as well as to technical education, and job-training programs. High school graduates lacking such knowledge would face unnecessary setbacks. There is no similarly compelling reason to eliminate the requirements.
The proposal is, at this point, just a discussion item. The group held its seventh of 10 meetings last week and is far from making its final recommendations to the State Board of Education. It should dispense with proposals to loosen the standards that have yet even to be implemented, particularly when those hold promise for turning out students prepared for success.
