HB 2915 was proposed by Randy Dorn, the state Superintendent of Public Instruction. Dorn's office issued a statement saying:
Dorn is asking for the math graduation requirement to be moved back to the class of 2015 to better align the testing system with the new math learning standards. For example, this year’s ninth graders who are taking Algebra I won’t be able to take the end-of-course exam in that subject until 2011 because the exam is not available this year.
“You’ve got to be fair to the students, and the timing of this simply doesn’t add up,” Dorn said. “In 2011, we have new math learning standards, we have new math exams and we have new graduation requirements. You have all these things happening at once and that’s putting a lot of strain on the system, and it’s the students who will bear the brunt of that strain.”
Dorn is also proposing a two-tier system in math where students can pass with a score of Basic or Proficient. Those students who pass with a score of Basic on both exams must earn two credits of math after 10th grade to fulfill the math requirement.
Currently, high school students up to the class of 2012 are required to meet state standards in reading, writing and math, OR, if unable to pass the math assessment, take an additional two credits of math. Students in the class of 2013 and beyond are required to pass assessments in reading, writing, math and science.
This is just the latest in the ongoing work to refine our state's testing system, starting largely in 2007 with passage of Rep. Ross Hunter's bill calling for a comprehensive review of math and science standards for high school students. Last session the Legislature approved getting rid of the WASL in favor of a different system (also proposed by Dorn).
Assessments and graduation requirements are two issues that generate a lot of debate because they touch on so many of the challenges in educating kids - adequate funding, tests that assess an individual student v. tests that assess a classroom or school or school district, one-size-fits-all approach to education v. more customized for an individual student's needs, closing the achievement gap and whether any one assessment is fair for all kids, what do kids really need to know when they graduate from high school... the list of debatable issues goes on. Efforts to win federal Race to the Top dollars add some urgency to the debate.
For now, we'll see whether Dorn's proposal gains traction. Stay tuned.
