When stakes are high, nerves can fray. Such was the case Monday when a state education commission couldn’t agree on the academic standards students must meet in order to graduate from high school.
The inability of the nine-member Academic and Achievement and Accountability Commission (A-Plus commission for short) to agree reflects the angst of educators, students and parents throughout the state as the deadline for a new graduation requirement nears. Starting with this year’s ninth-graders, students will have to pass the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning in reading, writing and math in order to get a diploma.
The A-Plus commission’s inaction – it met with the apparent intention of lowering the standard required to pass the WASL – essentially keeps intact a standard of “proficient” in all three subjects. That’s the third-highest of four levels, the higher being “advanced,” the others being “basic” and “below basic.”
Proficiency in core subjects is what we should expect of high school graduates. That, after all, is the central point of this state’s 11-year education reform effort. To compete in an increasingly complex world, students must be armed with effective reasoning, communication and problem-solving skills.
Good progress is being made. WASL scores are up, even without a graduation requirement. Once that kicks in, experience in other states shows, scores will rise substantially.
Worries that some students won’t meet the standards, and be denied a diploma, are real and understandable. The question is how to address those concerns – by lowering the bar so more students can clear it or keeping it high as an incentive for each student to realize his or her own potential.
Lowering the bar will have predictable results: many students will achieve less, and be less prepared to succeed in life. Keeping expectations high – coupled with targeted help for students who need it – does our students a greater service.
The Legislature should leave the standards where they are, sending an unequivocal message to students and educators that these are realistic expectations that will have to be met.
Just as importantly, lawmakers must step up to their responsibility to pay for the help struggling students will need to reach proficiency. That will be a challenge with a budget shortfall looming, but it must be a top priority.
Demanding proficiency without the means to achieve it is neither realistic nor fair. Our students need both.
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