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[H350]High School Graduation Requirements

by Patricia Hawke, Pat

Michigan Schools presented its new high school graduation requirements — the Michigan Merit Curriculum — in December 2005. The Michigan schools are determined to better prepare students for work and college success, by assuring that all students have the knowledge and skills needed to succeed.

Previous requirements for graduation in the Michigan schools reflected an economy and society that no longer exist, nor did they represent the real world demands of work and college. Michigan schools skills and course subjects that were once optional for students after graduation now are essential to enter college or the workforce. In a 2005 survey, only 24 percent of the graduates said they were significantly challenged during high school, while a recent survey showed one-in-five graduates thought expectations were low and it was easy to “slide by”. National data indicate that academic achievement in high school reading, mathematics and science has been mostly stagnate for decades.

Michigan's Governor Jennifer M. Granholm backs the new Michigan schools program, stating that the state's economy will suffer if Michigan does not have a highly educated workforce. Her goal is to double the number of college graduates in Michigan, and the new Michigan schools high school graduation requirements will ensure the goal is met.

The new Michigan Merit Curriculum requires Michigan schools graduates to successfully complete both the Michigan Merit Core and the 21st Century Learning Core. The new Michigan Merit Core consists of the following coursework:

• English Language Arts, integrated Humanities sequence, or CTE sequence — 4 credits

• Mathematics — 4 credits with one credit each in Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, AND an additional mathematics or mathematics-related credit in the senior year, integrated mathematics sequence, or CTE sequence

• Science — 3 credits with one credit each in Biology, Physics or Chemistry, and one additional credit of science, integrated math sequence, or CTE sequence

• Social Sciences — 3 credits

• Civics and Economics — 5 credits

• U.S. History and World History — 1 credit each, integrated with Geography, integrated Humanities sequence, or CTE sequence

• World Languages — 2 credits

• Health and Physical Education — 2 credits

• Visual and Performing Arts — 1 credit

Additionally, students in their junior year must take the Michigan schools' Michigan Merit Exam or the alternate MI-ACCESS assessment exam. Those who do not pass in their junior year have another opportunity to take the exam in the spring of their senior year. Additionally, the Michigan schools are developing high school content expectations to serve as a guide to curriculum development for the school districts.

The Michigan schools new graduation requirements instill rigor into the high school coursework, but provides some flexibility for school district phase-in of the new requirements and student modification provisions in some limited situations. The new Michigan schools requirements begin with the freshman class in the fall of 2006.

For decades, graduating Baltimore Schools seniors have had to show that they have met or exceeded their school's educational requirements, typically in the form of a standardized test such as the SAT or ACT. Many school districts have adopted tests that have been designed by their state's DOE (Department of Education). While lots of kids do well on these types of assessments, there are thousands who do not; and it's not because they haven't learned what they should but because they are poor test-takers. Some kids lack the skills necessary to take a standardized test successfully. Others simply freeze up. Their nerves get to them, and they cannot think clearly and fail the test or at least get a score that doesn't truly reflect what they've learned.

The leaders of Baltimore County Public Schools, in partnership with the rest of the state of Maryland, have finally realized that there is more than one way to assess a student's success in school. For at least the last 5 years, Baltimore Schools have been telling their students that they must pass four High School Assessments by the end of their senior year of high school to graduate and get that diploma. The assessments taken by Baltimore Schools students are in algebra, biology, American government, and English. The problems with this blanket policy are obvious. Teachers in the Baltimore Schools spend 13 years of a student's educational career doing their best to give them the type of Baltimore Schools learning experiences they need the most. For example, students who need extra help with Math, speak a language other than English, or those who would benefit from the challenge of a tougher writing class. Students must be held accountable to the same standards, but they don't all learn the same way, and it's not fair to test them all the same.

Maryland schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick says that Baltimore Schools students who repeatedly fail the exams will be allowed to do a senior project instead. The proposal was made in response to the fact that a minimum of 2,000 students across the state in the Class of 2009 may not graduate because of their poor performance on the state tests. Baltimore Schools students have quite a while to take and pass the tests; if they fail one or two, they can retake it. Under this new plan, for example, Baltimore Schools students who pass two of the four tests could do their senior projects in the subjects they've failed. Grasmick insists that the project will be rigorous, and would require the Baltimore Schools student's entire senior year to complete.

Detractors say that by telling Baltimore Schools students they don't have to pass the exams will mean that they won't take them seriously. Also of concern is that the students in Baltimore Schools must fail before they can take advantage of this alternative means of assessment. Students and their Baltimore Schools teachers should be given a choice in the type of assessments would best reflect what they have learned. Most, if not all, teachers keep portfolios on a student's work throughout the school year, with the purpose of assessing a student's progress.

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Patricia Hawke has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Food And Drink and Education Toys. Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit. Patricia Hawke's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.