With the dilution
of graduation standards, these numbers are unlikely to improve, adding to budget and social pressures, but, more ominously, short - changing our kids even more, as they struggle to find postsecondary success either in college or the demanding 21st century workplace.
Not exact matches
Widely affirmed proposals call for the restructure
of low - performing schools, more emphasis on the basics, safer classrooms, more rigorous
graduation standards, periodic measurement
of progress through some kind
of standardized tests, longer days and year - round schooling, decentralization into smaller learning communities and greater freedom for those smaller units, smaller classes, better - qualified teachers and improved salaries, more parental input and more equitable funding.
SMU has brought its admission
standards for athletes into line with those for the rest
of the university, and the Mustangs»
graduation rate has achieved respectability.
«The rules adopted today by the Board
of Regents maintain the rigor
of our
graduation requirements, while providing a new mechanism for students with disabilities to demonstrate they've met the State's
graduation standards.»
«What this year's data really shows is that the de Blasio administration is simply lowering
standards to boost
graduation rates,» said Jeremiah Kittredge
of Families for Excellent Schools, a pro-charter group.
Currently, those who scored a 2 or lower were judged to be not meeting the required
standards, now children who receive a score
of 2 or higher will be considered on track for meeting the new Regents requirements for high school
graduation.
De Blasio will unveil the new programs during a speech at the Bronx Latin School, where the mayor will announce that he intends to boost
graduation rates from 68 percent to 80 percent over the next decade, and get two - thirds
of those graduates «truly college - ready» based on Common Core
standards.
Those who support unionization say it would improve adjunct faculty members»
standard of living, provide a more stable environment for students, and increase retention and
graduation rates.
Board
of Regents chancellor Merryl Tisch and education commissioner John King have opposed delaying implementation
of the
standards, but King has said one change state officials are considering is pushing back when students would need to pass Common Core - aligned Regents exam for
graduation.
Modern accreditation
standards mean that many
of the Flexner - era ills
of for - profit education — little or no requirements for admission or
graduation and lax attention to instructional quality or attendance — are long bygone, the authors wrote.
It may imply that we've set unrealistic expectations about the number
of students who can feasibly reach rigorous
graduation standards.
The key
of course is just what the phrase «while keeping
graduation standards constant» means.
A leading figure in Minnesota's long - running effort to create tougher
graduation standards has resigned, charging that Gov. Arne Carlson is retreating from key parts
of the idea.
The committee touts the possibility
of alternative incentives to exit exams: «Several experiments with providing incentives for
graduation in the form
of rewards, while keeping
graduation standards constant, suggest that such incentives might be used to increase high school completion.»
Iris McGinnis, the director
of the state's
graduation -
standards project, announced her resignation last month in a letter to school officials working on the
standards.
High - school
graduation should be attached to reasonable attainment
of those
standards.»
A range
of initiatives from the New York State Education Department (SED) regarding
standards, assessments, and
graduation requirements has been very helpful in [forming] such important district strategies as aligning our curriculum, more effectively focusing our staff development, and instituting additional summer and afterschool programs.
The success has been astounding: over the past decade, the percentage
of students meeting provincial
standards in the annual literacy and numeracy tests for grades 3 and 6 has risen from 54 % to 71 %, and the high school
graduation rate has grown from 68 % to 83 %.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed legislation that will make some significant changes in the state's accountability system and budgeting requirements for schools, including tougher high school
graduation standards and elimination
of a requirement that school districts must spend 65 percent
of their operating budgets on classroom instruction.
The reforms seem to have moved the average student up by 0.2 to 0.4
standard deviations and boosted rates
of high school
graduation and college entry.
Small schools can also help boost
graduation rates among these underserved students by providing them with a new version
of the three Rs - rigorous academic coursework, meaningful relationships with instructors who can help them meet high
standards, and relevant learning opportunities through internships, community partnerships, and real - world tasks.
I'm convinced that much
of the modest success we've enjoyed has been tied to the adoption
of a statewide
graduation requirement based on our 10th - grade MCAS test (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System), beginning with the class
of 2003, not the result
of a national
standard or ethic.
Her litany
of complaints about the academic results
of Klein's «radical restructuring» is somewhat familiar — «inflating» test results and «taking shortcuts» to boost
graduation — except for the charge that «the recalibration
of the state scores revealed that the achievement gap among children
of different races in New York City was virtually unchanged between 2002 and 2010, and the proportion
of city students meeting state
standards dropped dramatically, almost to the same point as in 2002.»
Unstead
of early
graduation, why not 16 as
standard graduation age?
Just as a draft
of K - 12 common
standards designed to prepare students for college and the workforce was set to be released for public comment this week, a new report finds that more than half the states have revamped their high school
standards to emphasize such readiness upon
graduation.
We know from a 2003 study by Julian Betts and Jeff Grogger that there is a trade - off between higher
standards (for what it takes to get a good grade) and
graduation rates, at least for children
of color.
But the report, based on a survey
of states, indicates that states have been slower to embrace assessments, high school
graduation requirements, and, most especially, «comprehensive» accountability systems to match the
standards.
It takes a great deal
of personal time to become informed regarding such issues as racial desegregation, charter schools, curriculum content, testing,
graduation standards, geographic placement
of a new school, and the configuration
of attendance boundaries.
Using state -
of - the - art techniques, Dee finds that earlier
standards - based reforms lowered
graduation rates but improved students» employability, especially among black students.
The state board
of education, which began studying upgrading
graduation standards three years ago, also approved the establishment
of a «certificate
of merit» for students who take an extra year
of science and earn foreign - language credit.
Last year, at their national summit, 16 governors agreed to work with Achieve, Inc., a national nonprofit organization, on setting lofty
standards for high - school
graduation, increasing the rigor
of high - school curricula and tests, and aligning
standards and tests with the demands
of work and college.
The superintendent also urged, among other recommendations, that the district provide additional instruction for students at risk
of failure, adopt higher promotion and
graduation standards,...
As a result, educators channeled increasing numbers
of students into undemanding, nonacademic courses, while lowering
standards in the academic courses that were required for
graduation.
Holding all students to a single performance
standard, whether that is proficiency under NCLB or a single cut score for
graduation under assessments linked to CCSS, will never meet the needs
of all students.
Georgia has a strong track record
of reform, including an overhaul
of the state's performance
standards; redevelopment
of state exams; uniform
standards for high school
graduation; and a law that has led to the approval
of 27 alternative providers
of teacher certification.
His forthright support
of state
graduation standards, at a time when other superintendents were praying for a reprieve, was critical to the success
of the Massachusetts education - reform efforts.
Despite a mediocre track record
of school improvement, Ohio was a winner, partly for its «simple, yet bold, long - term aspirations,» including «a near - 100 % high school
graduation rate from schools teaching at internationally competitive
standards,» elimination
of achievement gaps, and higher - ed completion rates «that are among the highest in the nation and world.»
My back -
of - the - envelope calculations indicate that the expected wage benefits
of higher curriculum
standards due to their positive effect on employment exceed the expected wage costs due to their adverse effect on
graduation rates by a factor
of six.
Ohio needs to resolve its long - term funding crisis, develop a more coherent system
of preschool through higher education, adopt stronger academic
standards and
graduation requirements, create a better pool
of teachers and principals, and ensure that all schools are held to the same accountability
standards, the group says.
To investigate the claim that course requirements and basic - skills tests may dampen the efforts
of high - ability students, I analyzed whether higher
graduation standards did indeed encourage students to take more courses in the core academic areas.
In about half the states, graduates have also made it through statewide
graduation tests that are typically pegged to an 8th -, 9th -, or at most 10th - grade
standard of actual performance.
We would like graduates to meet
standards for
graduation and not simply leave the system with a piece
of paper and deficient skills.
[5] Therefore, similar to the great majority
of institutions
of higher education in this country, CUNY is continuously trying to find ways to increase
graduation rates while simultaneously maintaining or raising
standards.
They have joined a national protest in which states have repealed their
graduation test requirements, postponed the consequences
of testing for the Common Core — national
standards in more than 40 states — and rolled back the number
of required exams.
Along with the new
standards was a
graduation requirement for students, starting with the Class
of 2017, to pass subject - specific state tests in Algebra I, biology and literature called Keystone Exams to earn a diploma.
Mobilizing employers and business leaders to insist that states align high school
standards, assessments and
graduation requirements with the demands
of postsecondary education and work and show graduates that achievement matters by using high school transcripts and exit test results in making hiring decisions.
To estimate the effects
of states» adoption and implementation
of college - and career - readiness
standards and aligned assessments on student outcomes, C - SAIL is analyzing National Assessment
of Educational Progress (NAEP) data, high school
graduation rates, and college enrollment rates in all 50 states and the District
of Columbia.
The bill replaces AYP
standards with a requirement for states to annually measure all students and individual subgroups by: (1) academic achievement as measured by state assessments; (2) for high schools,
graduation rates; (3) for schools that are not high schools, a measure
of student growth or another valid and reliable statewide indicator; (4) if applicable, progress in achieving English proficiency by English learners; and (5) at least one additional valid and reliable statewide indicator that allows for meaningful differentiation in school performance.
The ESSA also requires that, if students fall behind in meeting these
standards, States and local educational agencies (LEAs) implement evidence - based interventions to help them and their schools improve, with a particular focus on the lowest - performing schools, high schools with low
graduation rates, and schools in which subgroups
of students are underperforming.
«Academic
standards and state assessments are an important component
of the state's effort to ensure that our students are prepared to pursue post-secondary degrees or careers after
graduation.»