New High School Graduation Requirements

© Dr Gary D. Lemmons, September 16, 2007 

The Georgia State Board of Education’s new high school graduation policy, constructed by the Georgia Department of Education, provides a one size fits all high school diploma for all students whether college bound, vocational-technical school oriented, or headed for the world of work.  This will now mean that the  class valedictorian and the student, who plans to be a machine lathe operator, will follow the same curriculum, participate in the same learning activities, and score (at least at the passing level) on the same assessments (tests).

Gee…I guess every basketball player will have to be able to dunk the ball in order to be on the team, too…!

This is, of course, the continuation of the policies of the elitist and the reformist schools of thought now dominant among educational leaders in the United States that hold, among other things,  that ALL students should go to college.  There is lip service paid by politicians and educational bureaucrats to the notion that a high school diploma should also qualify one for the world of work, but the underlying premise is that ALL American students should seek post-secondary (beyond high school) formal education and/or training.

Under the new scheme, ALL students will be required to take 4 units of Language Arts, 4 years of Math, 4 years of Science, 3 years of Social Studies.  Additionally, three credits must be taken in (get this) Foreign Language, and/or Fine Arts, and/or Career/Technical/Agricultural education.  One credit must be earned in Health and Physical Education, and the student must take 4 elective credits.  The total number of courses that a student must take will be 23.

Actually, the plan of courses is not bad.  Such an experience, if a student takes advantage of it, should result in the acquisition of a more than descent education.

Who knows?  One day you might overhear your auto mechanic spouting Shakespeare as he changes your oil.

What is more disconcerting is the new state curriculum...called the Georgia Performance Standards or  the GPS.  This document is an effort to cover all the things that a student should learn from Kindergarten through the 12th grade.  It is a well-researched document and, if properly implemented, should be able to be completed in about 16 years.  Wait...the K-12 experience only lasts, at best, 13 years!

Additionally, the GPS introduces more complicated concepts to student learners at an earlier time in their educational experience.  For example, first graders are dealing with rudimentary Algebra!

The GPS is the criteria upon which the yearly assessments (statewide high stakes standardized testing) is based.  Consequently teachers are engaged at a rapid pace from day one of the school year to cover all the things that will be on the test.  Extraneous material, teachable moments, and event social or personal counseling experiences, that those of us who attended school in the 20th century experienced, are gone for lack of time.  Those kinds of things are not covered on the test!

Parents and other adults with responsibility for the education of children might want to begin paying more attention to the elitist and reformist (not to be confused with reformers) approach to the restructure of the American education system.  We have been in this for over two decades now, and thus far our ranking in the world has NOT changed all that much!