A group of education leaders is pushing the legislature to impose statewide high school graduation requirements, drawing resistance from those who say local school boards should control their own curriculum.
Colorado is one of just six states in the nation that do not have statewide high school graduation standards. It’s a distinction that some argue has contributed to the abysmal statistic that almost one-third of the state’s college students have to take remedial courses.
A panel of college presidents, school superintendents and lawmakers wants the legislature to adopt a set of minimum high school graduation requirements, beginning with ninth- graders in 2008.
The Colorado Education Alignment Council, appointed by Gov. Bill Owens, wants every high school student to take four years of English, four years of math, three years of science and 3 1/2 years of social sciences.
The proposal would mean dramatic change in some school districts. Jefferson County, for example, requires only two years of math to graduate. Just 11 percent of districts require four years of math.
With about a month to go before the legislature begins its 2007 session, a handful of lawmakers said they are jockeying to decide who will carry a bill that would set statewide graduation standards.
Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, said she might support a statewide mandate – even though she strongly supports local control for school districts – because Colorado is not graduating enough high school students who are ready for college.
Colorado law already requires that high school students take courses in American history and civics.
“That has opened the door for us to pass another law that would open the door even wider,” Spence said.
Colorado State Board of Education chairwoman Pamela Suckla opposes a mandate from the legislature. Instead, she wants the board to adopt “model” graduation requirements for school boards to follow if they choose.
“I basically think that the state of Colorado is doing a pretty good job with our kids,” she said.
School districts should decide what’s best for students instead of “having the state sit in Denver and determine that,” said Jane Urschel of the Colorado Association of School Boards.
Also, the recommended requirements assume every student is headed to college, she said. “They also ought to be prepared for the workforce and career tech.”
Community College of Denver president Christine Johnson, who supports statewide requirements, said the debate is one more example of the “tension between local control and statewide need.”
“Local control has had a long history and value in our state, but we have to remember that our students don’t compete only in Colorado,” she said.
The recommended graduation requirements align with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education’s new standards for college admission, said executive director Jenna Langer.
Beginning in 2008, high school graduates who want to attend one of Colorado’s four-year public colleges must have taken four years of English, three years of math, three years of science and three years of social science. Requirements get stricter for the 2010 graduating class with a fourth year of advanced math.
The council’s worry is that students who want to attend a state university after high school might not realize they aren’t taking all the required courses. Part of the responsibility now falls on guidance counselors, whose ratio to students in Colorado is about 1-to-500.
“This is a huge disconnect,” said Terri Rayburn, executive director of The Fund for Colorado’s Future, which surveyed districts for the council. “Quite frankly, parents rely on the schools to advise the students.”
Her survey found that 25 percent of districts require students to complete two or fewer years of math.
More than a third of the districts require only two years or fewer of science. And just 6 percent require at least two years of a foreign language.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
