That should not be true and has historically been false. All of the trade jobs traditionally leaned on high schoolers to know the basics of mathematics, speaking, financials, technical and other writing. They worked as helpers and then journeymen and then higher. There are a lot of fields where a credible high school diploma should suffice to show employers that candidates can communicate well, finish tasks, and work within groups. This is why, traditionally, people with high school diplomas are more successful.
The fact that a HS diploma isn’t proof of education to a specific standard doesn’t mean that students aren’t and cannot be educated in HS. For some it is a gateway to future learning and pursuits. Knowledge to build upon. For others it is a publicly funded babysitter. And we know from last year how up arms folks get if you take that away. So you prefer holding back or failing struggling students to giving them a diploma? Publicly funding their floundering for longer. I don’t think anybody is establishing a career based on their ability to produce a high school diploma.
Yes. I prefer holding them back and not giving them a diploma if they don’t earn one. If they can’t read or do simple math they shouldn’t graduate.
Can you still graduate without passing any classes? I’m pretty sure this is an exit requirement for specific reading, writing, and math knowledge that constitutes a high school standard. I don’t think that necessarily means they are churning out illiterate kids who can’t write words or perform elementary math.
They are doing exactly that. The thought is that a high school diploma, regardless of the education behind it, is enough to break the schoolroom to prison pipeline. There was a significant Obama-era program dedicated to just this policy. As you could predict, it’s backfired as people become reluctant to hire when they can’t trust the diploma.
I’m just saying not passing a test for 12th grade level reading, writing and math, doesn’t mean a person is illiterate or can’t add or subtract. I assume there are still grades and the concept of passing classes, no? Or is that done with? In reality this is more about a headline than any tangible effect. We aren’t pumping out illiterate kids who have somehow sat through a requisite amount of schooling for more than a decade just because we aren’t basing their graduation on a standardized test result (which I never had to take).
I haven’t had time to look up the articles but there are some real bad places for this. Like in the Baltimore city schools, the percentage of kids graduating with a 12th grade reading level is regularly in the teens. The percentage graduating with just an 8th grade level is at or less than 50 percent.
Holding a child back doesn’t improve the situation. It only increases dropout rates. The issues you describe are indicative of a poor education system. Applying a test to deny advancement doesn’t address the root cause of why students are not well educated.
I’m all for a multi-faceted approach. How do we make parents better in this country?
