Tougher new graduation standards would have blocked many diplomas

‘Absurdly easy’ alternate paths face criticism.

CLEVELAND — More than a third of the this spring’s high school graduates from some urban areas would never have received their diplomas under Ohio’s new graduation requirements, were it not for some temporary and easier “pathways” added to avert a statewide graduation “crisis.”

In Akron and Columbus, new test-based requirements would have prevented more than a third of this year’s graduates from marching at ceremonies in caps and gowns.

In Cleveland, the impact of the controversial new standards would have been even stronger. The higher expectations would have wiped out diplomas for nearly half of the seniors who received them.

Those students instead graduated using special onetime alternate pathways created just for this year to ease the transition to the new standards. Those pathways avoided test score requirements if students met other standards like having strong attendance or good grades their senior year, completing a senior capstone project or doing community service.

Meanwhile, at least one suburban and affluent district, Olmsted Falls, was affected much less by the new state requirements. Only 10 percent of graduates this spring used the easier alternates to receive diplomas.

Akron Superintendent David James, who helped create the alternate requirements, has praised them and how they have helped his district’s students.

“Suffice to say, this alternative solution by the state, which focuses on academic rigor and demonstration of college and career readiness, combined with our aggressive approach is working for our students and their families,” he wrote this spring.

But others, including the Fordham Institute’s Chad Aldis, called the alternate paths “absurdly easy,” echoing complaints of former state board members who wanted higher requirements so diplomas mean more to employers and make sure students are ready for college.

Aldis sparked a debate with James by criticizing Akron for guiding students to the “softer” pathways instead of making them deal with their academic weaknesses.

“Touting a lofty graduation rate is far more pleasant than answering questions about a lower one,” Aldis wrote. “But students who walk offstage with a meaningless diploma are destined for big disappointments in the real world that follows.”

State Rep. Andrew Brenner, chairman of the House Education Committee, also said the need for the easier pathways suggests schools are not doing enough.

“What’s going on here that they’re not able to get kids up to being college and careerready?” he asked.

The impact of requirements and alternate pathways will drive discussion in Columbus over whether the new requirements are fair and whether the temporary paths should continue for future graduating classes, including for students starting senior year this fall. The state school board is just starting early discussions of that issue.

With the Ohio Department of Education not planning to gather statewide details until the fall, The Plain Dealer collected data from this limited group of districts for a quick, early look.

Akron, Cleveland Columbus were chosen based on their size or their location in Northeast Ohio. Olmsted Falls was added because Superintendent Jim Lloyd, even as head of a suburban district, was among the most vocal opponents of the tougher requirements.

This limited snapshot suggests that a few expected patterns occurred this spring:

■ Poor and disadvantaged students struggled to graduate without the short-term exemptions, while more affluent students needed them less.

■ At the same time, the easier, alternate pathways appear to allow large increases in schools’ graduation rates, rather than drastic declines predicted without them.

Data on this impact is even more limited, though Akron Superintendent David James expects a 10 to 15-point increase in his graduation rate, above last year’s 73 percent.

Official graduation rates will not be available until next year, until students taking summer tests are added. We are still seeking more information on how Cleveland’s graduation rate could be affected, since the district has repeatedly pointed to its rising rate as evidence of schools improving.

State Sen. Peggy Lehner, a Kettering Republican who chairs Ohio’s Senate Education Committee, said she is particularly interested in how graduation rates are affected as she digs deeper into the issue. Brenner said he is also wary of any large increases in graduation rates.

The constant shifts in Ohio’s graduation requirements and the debate over which group of students had higher expectations are hard to keep track of. But expectations - at least minimum standards - have risen in recent years.

For decades, the state just required that students take certain courses to graduate and left it up to schools to decide if students learned the material.

Then the state added the Ohio Graduation Tests to make sure students knew material at a basic level before graduating.

Now, new standards that just started with the Class of 2018 required students to score well on a major national tests or on a series of state tests given at the end of major high school courses. The goal was to raise the bar for receiving a diploma and avoid graduates going to college or a workplace with few skills.

But the requirements are controversial, sparking several heated debates at state school board meetings over whether expectations are too high. While some believe diplomas have been so easy to earn that they were virtually meaningless - “trophies for all,” as one former board member put it - others worried that high expectations would unnecessarily block too many students from graduating and ever advancing in life.

In addition, school officials from across Ohio, led partly by Olmsted Falls’ Lloyd, rallied in protest of the requirements outside the Statehouse in late 2016, before marching to the nearby state school board meeting to push for changes.

Aldis and other backers of tougher requirements had hoped schools and students worried about graduation would be forced to work harder and learn more so students could pass tests.

The result seems to be a hybrid of making extra efforts and of using the easier pathways.

Cleveland schools say they pressed for better test results while also having students pursue other pathways as a “safety net.” Most seniors in Cleveland chose to do 120 hours of community service or complete a “capstone” research project. Columbus students leaned toward career credential pathways and using work or community service hours.

“We asked every single student to pick one of the alternate paths to make sure they had a pathway to graduation,” district CEO Eric Gordon said.

For some the alternate pathways were truly a backup plan. More than 100 of Cleveland’s graduates this year earned diplomas under the alternate pathways, but when test results came back at the last minute they had also met score requirements.

There’s also tension in the urban districts of how students using the added pathways are viewed.

“I don’t think it’s right for someone to say that there were students who graduated only because of the alternative option,” Columbus schools spokesman Scott Varner said. “Our teachers, counselors, and principals would not have allowed those students to pursue the alternative options if they were not available in the first place ... and instead we would have pushed them down the other pathways.”