Published: Friday, June 26, 2009
EDUCATION
Don't change math timetable
Commitment and hard work, as it usually does, paid off for this year's high school graduates.
They crossed one of life's most important and gratifying thresholds as perhaps the most literate class in state history, having passed rigorous reading and writing exams in record numbers. The resulting skills and self-confidence will be their allies as they enter a world that's more competitive than ever, whether they choose to tackle the challenging job market now or broaden their knowledge base in college.
They're in a better position than they might have been because most elected leaders resisted pressure to ease up on the high academic and accountability standards these students were asked to meet. State lawmakers, with the support of the governor, school administrators, many teachers and the business community, held firm to a schedule that required last year's seniors to be the first to pass the reading and writing tests as a graduation requirement. Last year, about 92 percent of seniors passed them both. This year, it was 93 percent.
Passing rates shot up impressively when the tests became graduation requirements, showing the importance of real accountability -- something that should be learned in school, because everyone is subject to it in the working world.
It's a lesson that ought to continue resonating in Olympia, even as math and science standards are being reworked.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn, whose office is also revamping statewide testing, has called for a delay in adding math and science graduation requirements, which are currently scheduled to start in 2013. He argues that since new standards won't be ready until 2011, it would be unfair to expect all students to pass tests based on them that quickly.
We think his call is premature at best, and could be self-defeating. Let's at least see what the new standards are, and what the new tests look like, before considering a delay.
Students need these skills, and experience shows many won't take them as seriously as they should without the incentive a graduation requirement provides. Far too many high school graduates still must take remedial math in college -- classes they should have mastered in high school. That's a waste of time and resources.
Employers, especially those in key industries like aerospace and high tech, are clamoring for workers with the math and science skills they need. If they can't find them here, they're increasingly likely to consider locating elsewhere. Keeping good jobs here is an economic imperative.
Next year's Legislature should keep the current math and science timetable in place. Students have already shown, through their success in reading and writing, that they're up to big challenges.
They crossed one of life's most important and gratifying thresholds as perhaps the most literate class in state history, having passed rigorous reading and writing exams in record numbers. The resulting skills and self-confidence will be their allies as they enter a world that's more competitive than ever, whether they choose to tackle the challenging job market now or broaden their knowledge base in college.
They're in a better position than they might have been because most elected leaders resisted pressure to ease up on the high academic and accountability standards these students were asked to meet. State lawmakers, with the support of the governor, school administrators, many teachers and the business community, held firm to a schedule that required last year's seniors to be the first to pass the reading and writing tests as a graduation requirement. Last year, about 92 percent of seniors passed them both. This year, it was 93 percent.
Passing rates shot up impressively when the tests became graduation requirements, showing the importance of real accountability -- something that should be learned in school, because everyone is subject to it in the working world.
It's a lesson that ought to continue resonating in Olympia, even as math and science standards are being reworked.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn, whose office is also revamping statewide testing, has called for a delay in adding math and science graduation requirements, which are currently scheduled to start in 2013. He argues that since new standards won't be ready until 2011, it would be unfair to expect all students to pass tests based on them that quickly.
We think his call is premature at best, and could be self-defeating. Let's at least see what the new standards are, and what the new tests look like, before considering a delay.
Students need these skills, and experience shows many won't take them as seriously as they should without the incentive a graduation requirement provides. Far too many high school graduates still must take remedial math in college -- classes they should have mastered in high school. That's a waste of time and resources.
Employers, especially those in key industries like aerospace and high tech, are clamoring for workers with the math and science skills they need. If they can't find them here, they're increasingly likely to consider locating elsewhere. Keeping good jobs here is an economic imperative.
Next year's Legislature should keep the current math and science timetable in place. Students have already shown, through their success in reading and writing, that they're up to big challenges.
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