Education Week - April 11, 2018 - 9

H.S. Diploma Criteria
Fall Short, Study Finds

EXAMINING 'PREPARATION GAPS,' BY SUBJECT
In most states, students must exceed high school diploma requirements in order to be admitted to their state's public, four-year
colleges. That "preparation gap" is most pronounced in foreign language, where 23 states fall short of college-entrance requirements.

Lower bar trips students at college door
By Catherine Gewertz
Most state high school graduation
requirements are so poorly designed
that they trap students in a "preparation gap," where they don't qualify
for admission to public universities,
according to a new study.
In its April 2 report, the Center for
American Progress analyzed how
states' requirements for a standard
diploma match up with the admissions criteria at their respective
state universities. The think tank
found that in most states, in at least
one subject area, students must exceed their state's high school graduation requirements in order to cross
the threshold of the public four-year
institutions in their state.
The CAP study describes two big
problems. Most state diploma requirements:
* Don't meet admissions criteria for the state's public universities. Noted by other researchers
as well, this "preparation gap" can
form a barrier to college when students find that the diploma requirements they completed fall short of
the ones their state colleges and
universities expect for admission.
* Leave too much up to the
student. In many states, students
can decide which core courses to
take in order to fulfill graduation requirements. That means they could
finish high school with a relatively
weak lineup of classes, or courses
that don't match well with their
postsecondary goals.
Against the backdrop of a series of
graduation-rate scandals-like the
recent one in the District of Columbia, where schools bent the rules to
let students get diplomas-the CAP
report is a call to keep expectations
high, and make sure all students get
what they need to meet them.
The report warns that resources
are a crucial piece of ensuring a
smooth transition from high school
to college. Rigorous requirements for
all students are just the first step,
it says.
All students must have the ingredients to succeed in tough courses:
a good teacher, good curriculum,
strong instructional support, and
equal access to those classes, the
study says. Any missing piece boosts
the risk that some students will be
moved through the system without
being really ready for college or
postsecondary training.
"Without sufficient resources to
ensure that all students can meet
rigorous coursework requirements,
problems such as tracking students
into less rigorous courses and using
nefarious practices to get students
across the graduation finish line will
persist," the report says.
The center found that states'
graduation requirements for a standard diploma-the analysis doesn't
include the "advanced" diplomas offered in some states-matched up
with those of their state universities

States whose diploma requirements ...
do not meet
college expectations

most often in English.
In that subject, 47 states' requirements meet or exceed those of their
universities. But in math, only 40
states require the courses that state
universities demand for admission.
The misalignment is most pronounced in foreign language.
Those gaps aren't always easy for
students to fill. They might have a
tough time finding those classes on
their own high school campuses.

Course Access Varies
The CAP report makes note of the
U.S. Department of Education's Civil
Rights Data Collection, which shows
that 1 in 10 high schools don't offer
Algebra 1, and 2 in 10 don't offer Algebra 2. Education Week's own analysis
of the data showed that the courseavailability problem is worse in highpoverty, high-minority schools.
Huge student-counselor ratios also
tend to be worse in high-poverty
schools. That increases the risk that
students who need the most help
figuring out the gaps between high
school and college requirements might
not be able to get it.
The new study is the latest in a
swirl of reports pointing out that not
all high school diplomas are created
equal. "Paper Thin," a report by the
Alliance for Excellent Education,
found that U.S. schools award 98
different types of high school diplomas, and only half prepare students
well for college or career. A report by
Achieve, "How the States Got Their
Rates," found big variations in requirements for different kinds of high
school diplomas.
The Education Trust examined the
courses students finish for graduation, and found that only 8 percent
finish a "cohesive" set of classes that
prepare them well for work or college. High schools tend to prioritize
accrual of credits when they advise
students, rather than assembling a
meaningful set of courses that are
good fits for their post-high school
goals, the study said.

meet
college expectations

exceed
college expectations

Math

English

Science

Social studies

Foreign language

Physical education

Fine arts

Electives

SOURCE: "Are High School Diplomas Really a Ticket to College and Work?" Center for American

Progress, 2018

HOW STATES MEASURE UP

n 15-credit college-ready courses
n 3 credits in same career
and technical education field

The researchers looked at how states' standard diploma requirements stack
up against a variety of criteria, including whether they call for students to
complete a career concentration and/or a classic college-ready course of study
(four years of English and three each of math and a laboratory science).

n Well-rounded education
n Complete alignment:
high school and college courses

n Meets no criteria
n N/A
WA
MT

NH
ME
VT

ND
MN

OR
ID
WY
UT

NY
PA

IA
IL

NV
CA

KS
OK

OH
WV
KY

NJ
DE
MD
DC

TN
AR

SC
MS

RI
CT

College-Prep and Career-Tech-Ed
The Center for American Progress analysis looked at high school
graduation requirements through
another lens, too. It attempts to analyze the quality of the high school
education that students receive
by examining which states mandate inclusion of specific course
sequences.
Those include three related
courses in career-technical education, commonly called a "concentration," and the classic 15-credit
college-prep sequence (four years
of English, three years of math
through Algebra 2, three years of
laboratory science, three years of social studies including U.S. or world
history, and two years of the same
foreign language).
The results show that most states

SOURCE: "Are High School Diplomas Really a Ticket to

College and Work?" Center for American Progress, 2018

are falling short in at least one area.
The center urges states to build
more rigorous requirements into
their high school diplomas, and
also to publish graduation rates
not just by subgroup, but diploma
type.
It also suggests that states offer
a distinct "career readiness diploma" that would include a threecourse concentration, as well as the
15-course college-prep sequence.

Diploma requirements that fall
short of public universities' admissions requirements are just one
sign that fundamental changes are
needed in high school, said Laura
Jimenez, who co-authored the report with Scott Sargrad.
"We need to rethink the entire
high school experience," she said in
an interview.
"A big part of that is the expectations set for students: academic

standards, coursework requirements, and anything else they
have to do to meet the bar to get a
diploma. When any of those are not
rigorous or [are] fudged, it really is
a marker that there is something
wrong with the entire experience of
high school."
Visit the HIGH SCHOOL & BEYOND
blog, which tracks news and trends
on this issue. www.edweek.org/blogs

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Education Week - April 11, 2018

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