Board seeks input on graduation proposal
06.03.2010, 09:58
The State Board of Education is again seeking public comment on a proposal to increase high school graduation requirements.
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The state board approved a proposal in August to increase graduation requirements to help Idaho students compete against college applicants from other states.
If approved by the Idaho Legislature, all high school students would be required to take three years of math and science. Now, the state requires only two years in either subject. The state also would require students to take at least one math class in their senior year.
The new requirements would go into effect by 2013.
“We have the lowest graduation requirements in math and science,” said Laird Stone, president of the State Board of Education. “And based on the data, it keeps some of our kids out of college.”
According to the board, the proposal would make graduation requirements more competitive with other states, and reduce remediation rates by aligning high school graduation and college entrance requirements.
The state board attempted to pass a similar proposal last year, but pulled back due to lack of support from lawmakers and the public.
The Legislature thought the proposal was too costly, and many parents and educators feared that students would not have time to take elective courses.
“There is more involvement this time from stakeholders,” Stone said. “It includes a lot of the same aspects from the previous proposal, but a lot of it has been done in recognition of those comments from the public.”
The latest proposal ensures that students can meet graduation requirements by taking other courses such as professional, technical or other classes where math and science are used.
Students also would be required to take a state-funded college entrance exam such as the ACT or SAT, which several other states, including Wyoming, Illinois and Colorado, require.
Stone said he does not know the total cost of the proposal, but he said costs would include incentives to attract math and science teachers to Idaho, as well as the cost of offering college entrance exams.
The State Board of Education will hold a public hearing on Oct. 17 in the Student Union Building at the College of Southern Idaho, and it is encouraging written comments.