Will high-school standards be too tough?

With tens of thousands more Ohio high-school seniors facing the prospect of failing to earn a diploma next year, a committee’s recommendation that lawmakers water down the state’s new graduation requirements is getting mixed reviews.

Without the changes, urban districts would be particularly hard-hit; only 38 percent of juniors in Columbus City Schools are currently on track to meet new testing requirements. More are likely to qualify within the next year.

The district’s graduation rate under the current requirements was almost

74 percent in the 2014-15 school year.

Statewide, about 66 percent of juniors are on track to graduate next year. That compares with a statewide graduation rate last year of 83 percent, meaning that as of right now, about 23,000 fewer students statewide would earn a diploma next year.

Beginning with the Class of 2018 — this year’s juniors — students must accumulate at least 18 points out of a possible 36 on seven endof-course tests to graduate. They also have the option of getting a “remediation-free” score on a college entrance exam, or obtaining an industry credential indicating they are ready for a job.

With a third of juniors at risk of not graduating, the state Board of Education appointed a review committee in December to look at options. Rather than lower the test points needed to graduate, the panel this week recommended awarding seniors who fall short extra credit for such things as having good attendance or working while going to school.

The new proposal “is the right direction to recognizing a more holistic approach to student achievement,” Columbus district spokesman Scott Varner said, because testing alone doesn’t identify potential success for college or work.

“We’ve been supportive of these efforts,” Varner said.

Under the committee’s plan, students could still graduate if they: complete required high-school courses, take all end-ofcourse exams and meet any two of six criteria: 93 percent attendance during senior year; 2.5 grade-point average senior year; complete a capstone project; 120 hours of work or community service; complete a College Credit Plus course; or complete an International Baccalaureate or advanced-placement test.

“In other words, kids come to school, they do well in their classes, they’re going to get credit for that,” said John Haswell, superintendent of the Shadyside schools district in eastern Ohio, on the Ohio River about 5 miles south of Wheeling, West Virginia. “Doing poorly on one standardized test can wipe out an entire year. That can’t happen.”

Haswell likes that the proposal would give points for keeping a 2.5 grade-point average in a student’s senior year and for having a 93 percent attendance rate.

A 2.5 GPA, “that’s the average student,” Haswell said. The high-stakes graduation tests are hurting the average kids, “the backbone of the country.”

“Sometimes the truth hurts, and I think what came out of there yesterday was” that high-stakes testing is wrong for Ohio, Haswell said.

Critics of the proposed changes argue that Ohio’s new graduation requirements raised benchmarks to ensure that students graduating high school are prepared to succeed for college or career.

“We essentially make the diploma a participation diploma. I don’t want a bunch of students left out but districts have had five years to prepare for this,” said Chad Aldis, vice president for Ohio policy and advocacy for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an Ohio education think tank.

Recognizing that large numbers of students might fall short, Fordham has proposed dual diplomas — one for students who meet minimum credit requirements and other local requirements, the other a state diploma reflecting college and career readiness.

Students would still strive for the state diploma, he said, rather than giving them an out.

“We keep making excuses on why kids can’t learn. If we do what they are proposing, a diploma means nothing — we’re watering it down even further,” said former state Board of Education President Tom Gunlock.

“I feel like I wasted six years of my life (on the board). We need to get better but watering down the requirements isn’t the answer ... we always err on the side of adults. We’re (school districts and the state) going to look great, all our kids are going to graduate.

“But we send all these kids to college and they need remediation or drop out because they can’t do the work.”

Tougher standards were sought because about 40 percent of Ohio high-school graduates need remedial work at state colleges and universities.

The plan must be approved by the General Assembly. Legislative leaders are expected to review the proposal and other ideas later this spring.