TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - Some educators in Indiana have expressed concerns
about proposed changes to the state’s high school graduation requirements
that the Board of Education is expected to consider next week.
The
proposal says students would have to complete coursework, demonstrate
employable skills through service or work projects and show they are ready
for post-secondary study through exams that include the SAT and ACT. It
calls for the requirements to be in place before the start of the 2018-19
school year.
Principal of Goshen High School, Barry Younghans, said one of the biggest
issues is the post-secondary requirement. He said the scores that students
must achieve are currently set higher than necessary.
Younghans said he wouldn’t be surprised to see a significant drop in overall
graduation rates in the future if the proposal is approved.
“We’re looking at a graduation rate of about 66 percent (under these new
rules) compared to our current 88.3 or 88.1 percent graduation rate,”
Younghans estimated.
Todd
Bess, executive director of the Indiana Association of School Principals,
said using tests as an accountability tool is a problem because many
students are probably not proficient.
Bess
favors using assessments because he said they align to Indiana’s academic
standards.
“We’re making recommendations for accountability testing without truly
understanding how it will be factored into the accountability system,” Bess
said.
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