SEATTLE — If money and time were not a consideration, what would Washington’s high school students be asked to accomplish before getting their diploma? Warning: You may want to stop reading this story if you are a parent — or a preteen enjoying the illusion of a learning-free summer.
Still with me? How about 24 credits, including four years of English, three years of math, science and social studies, two years of the arts, two years of health plus physical education, plus seven more credits that would depend on a student’s plan for after high school. For example, college-bound students would need two world language credits.
That’s the dream the state Board of Education is expected to approve at its meeting today in Vancouver, Wash.
Those of you who are good at math have already figured out it’s going to be pretty tough to earn 24 credits at a high school that offers five hours of classes each day or for a student who fails even one class at a school with six hours of instruction a day.
Since the state only pays for the instruction required to reach 20 credits, the vote by the state Board of Education is just the beginning of a longer process to revise both the high school graduation requirements and the way the state pays for education.
Currently, the state requires high school students to pass 19 classes to graduate: three years of English, two years of math, science and fitness/health, 2 1/2 years of social studies, one year of arts, one year of occupational education and 5 1/2 years of electives.
Washington state universities have different requirements for the students they enroll, including more math, English and social studies, plus two years of a world language.
Edie Harding, the education board’s executive director, notes, however, that the expected action does put Washington on the road toward offering a more “meaningful high school diploma.”
The rest of the process would require the board to work with another state panel, the Basic Education Finance Joint Task Force, and with Washington lawmakers.
All three groups are struggling to figure out what to do before early next year, when a state court will hear arguments in an education funding lawsuit brought by school districts and education organizations across the state.
The state uses sales, business and property taxes to pay 84.3 percent of what it costs to educate Washington’s 1 million school children. The other 15.7 percent comes from local levies and some federal money, primarily for education of special-needs children.
Some school districts use levy money to lengthen the school day beyond the five hours the state pays for. Most state dollars go to teacher salaries. The state also matches local bond money for school construction.
The vote to require three years of high school math equivalent to algebra I, geometry and algebra II is much closer to affecting students from the class of 2013 and beyond, beginning with this fall’s eighth graders. If the measure is approved, Washington would join 39 other states that either require, or are about to, three high school math credits.
That change would not require a revision of the way the state pays for education, but some critics and state officials believe it could be a problem in a different way: there may not be enough qualified high school math teachers to teach the extra classes.
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