DENVER—Gov. Bill Ritter plans to double the number of technical certificates and college degrees awarded in Colorado over the next 10 years by doing away with traditional course titles in public schools and allowing educators to be more flexible, policy advisers said Thursday.
The plan focuses on allowing students to gain skills needed to enter college. Matt Gianneschi, the governor’s education policy adviser, told the Legislature’s Joint Education Committee that students often get left behind because they fail traditional courses in high school that are needed to get into college, like pre-algebra, and have no way to catch up.
He said those students could get the skills they need in other courses by realigning how skills are taught from preschool through college, a plan Ritter calls “revolutionary.”
“What they’re counting is how many years did you sit in the class that met a certain title requirement. What we’re arguing is this: A student is a late bloomer, perhaps they struggled with math the first two years, then the light came on as a junior. Do they still have time to meet the college performance expectations? Under the current policy, no, they wouldn’t.
“What we’re proposing is that student might be able to create different opportunities, perhaps going through a remedial sequence at a community college or trying other options that would give them the opportunity, so that within two years they could demonstrate they were proficient, even if their transcript demonstrates there are some deficiencies,” he said.
Gianneschi said several school districts are already trying innovative programs, such as teaching math through other courses. He said college admission offices are learning to consider proficiency, even when student transcripts don’t show traditional courses.
He said some schools in Colorado don’t even have course titles anymore.
Rep. Randy Fischer, D-Fort Collins, said changing the standards for college admission from grades earned in traditional courses to demonstrating proficiency could require the state to set up high-stakes testing that could force students to drop out.
Gianneschi said that’s not necessary because the tests could be used to determine areas where students are having problems and provide the tutoring necessary to bring them up to par.
“It’s not, ‘You must pass, or else,'” he said.
Lawmakers have already introduced a bill that would use statewide tests to track student progress and tell teachers and parents how a student is performing from year to year. Gianneschi said lawmakers are working on bills to implement the governor’s plan. He said that could take weeks or months.
