Commencement season is here once again. More than 65,000 high school seniors statewide have been collecting diplomas, making future plans, and accepting congratulations from families and friends.
We’d like to add our voices to that congratulatory chorus. This year’s graduates are arguably the best prepared in state history, as they are the first class to have met a new, more rigorous graduation standard by demonstrating solid reading and writing skills. They should take pride that their diplomas are more meaningful because they are backed by clearly demonstrated skills.
In this regard, the Class of 2008 represents a significant step toward what lawmakers envisioned when Washington began its education reform journey some 15 years ago.
Congratulations too should go to the dedicated educators and parents who have helped these students meet the new standard and reach this important milestone.
Finally, congratulations also must go to our state’s political leaders. The road hasn’t been smooth, but in the end they rejected the naysayers who declared that students and schools couldn’t meet higher standards. They ultimately recognized that low scores were not the result of a flawed assessment but a clear indication that we all needed to do more to help students develop the skills they need.
But even as more than 90 percent of the students in the Class of 2008 have successfully completed the reading and writing WASL or an approved alternative, some still argue that we should dismantle the state assessment system. At a time when Washington’s schools are making significant and demonstrable progress, such a step backward would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Instead, we should put the WASL wars behind us and turn our focus toward what remains to be done to continue improving Washington schools’ ability to prepare students for their futures.
While we can’t take our eye off the ball in reading or writing, we must intensify our efforts to bring math and science achievement up to similar levels. Math scores still trail those in reading and writing by some 20 points. Math and science skills are fundamental for preparing students to work and live in today’s globally competitive, technologically driven world. Nowhere is that more evident than in our state, which boasts leaders in information technology, health sciences, aviation, world trade and other rapidly changing fields.
We must complete the updates to our math and science standards, align our curricula to those standards and ensure that we have enough qualified math and science teachers to improve instruction in these important subjects.
Next, we must update state graduation standards to reflect real world requirements. As a recent College Work Ready Agenda study clearly demonstrates, the vast majority of family-wage jobs already require additional education or training beyond high school. This is especially true of the fastest-growing sectors.
Our schools must prepare students for that training, whether at a four-year college, a community college, or a technical training or apprenticeship program. We can’t afford a system in which those meeting minimum graduation standards aren’t even eligible to apply for admission to a four-year college and more than half of recent high school graduates need remedial classes before beginning credit-bearing work in community college. That’s why we support the State Board of Education’s work to raise expectations in all subjects, while providing multiple pathways to graduation.
Finally, we must redouble our efforts to reduce the dropout rate. Contrary to what some would have you believe, the WASL hasn’t caused the dropout problem. A Washington State University study suggests that a lack of credits, and not the exam, was the biggest barrier to graduation for the Class of 2008.
This year’s class, the first to have any WASL-related graduation requirement, actually had a smaller percentage of dropouts than previous classes. Even though the numbers are going in the right direction, far too many are still dropping out; roughly a quarter of Washington high schoolers never make it to graduation. We need a concerted effort to identify students at risk of dropping out and provide the support they need to get and stay on track.
To the members of the Class of 2008, we offer congratulations on your accomplishments. You’ll have many challenges ahead. When it comes to improving our schools, the same can be said for all of us.
Scott Carson is president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Brad Smith is senior vice president and general counsel of Microsoft. Both are members of the Washington Roundtable, a public-policy organization composed of chief executives of the state’s major private-sector employers.
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