At first glance, a recent move by the Colorado Board of Education to keep in place pending guidelines for high school graduation seems a wise decision.
Unfortunately, based on comments at the meeting, the board is likely to return to the topic and water down the requirements that were passed in 2013 to ensure students are academically prepared when they leave high school.
These are requirements the board approved just two years ago after an extensive process. They should be left alone.
The requirements, which don’t even go into effect until 2021, call for raising the bar on what high school students should be able to demonstrate they know before getting a diploma.
Districts would be provided a suite of options by which students could prove their competency in math, English, science and social studies.
The proof could come from getting a 3 or higher on ACT English tests or 3 or higher on the AP test.
Earlier this year, however, board members asked department staff to develop a plan to downgrade those requirements — lowering the bar and eliminating science and social studies.
Students would pass with a score of 2 or higher on the ACT or AP tests. Thankfully, the board rejected that proposal, but few believe the conversation is over.
‘s Eric Gorski explained, the board rejected the proposal after hearing from rural educators concerned about costs and limited options available to smaller school districts. So the board may want to lower the bar even more than what was proposed.
The board is reacting to fear that by raising the bar, fewer students will graduate and more will drop out. But what we have now is plenty of students graduating without the skills or knowledge they need.
Roughly 40 percent of Colorado high school graduates enter college having to take remedial classes.
A high school diploma should mean something, namely that students are ready for college or to enter the workplace.
Otherwise, it is not worth the paper it is printed on.
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