AUSTIN -- Most Texans seem to agree that the new high school graduation standards need to change, but there is little agreement on how to do it.
Options for new standards range from five to 15 end-of-course exams, the scores of which may or may not count toward a student's grade-point average. There is also a debate over whether high school kids should be able to choose to focus on college preparation or for vocational education when selecting classes.And lawmakers only began to find out last week what all this might cost. The Legislative Budget Board declared that Sen. Dan Patrick's proposed overhaul, Senate Bill 3, would cost the state $35 million in the first two years, something he wasn't expecting.Patrick, a Houston Republican who chairs the Senate Education Committee, has proposed ending the requirement that all high school students take four years each of English, math, science and social studies for a combined 16 core credits out of 26 to graduate. His bill creates four avenues for graduation, including a "Foundation Diploma" that requires only 12 core credits out of 26, presumably for those not intending to go to college.Patrick's plan also includes specially endorsed diplomas in business and industry, arts and humanities, science and math and distinguished achievement. The bill answers complaints from school officials who say the current system doesn't suit all students, many of whom need vocational training instead.Critics, though, worry that Patrick's bill is lowering the standard for a basic high school diploma. Higher education officials already complain they are spending too much time teaching remedial courses to incoming freshmen whose high school classes were not up to snuff.Barbara Cargill, chairwoman of the State Board of Education, told a Senate committee last week that experts have been striving for a compromise under the existing system by identifying seven career and technology courses that could count toward a fourth year of math or science. She said that would allow students interested in vocational training to graduate while taking relevant courses.Patrick insists that his plan does not lower standards."We are stepping up. We are asking more of our students to be competitive," Patrick told his committee.He invited officials from Toyota and BASF to testify about the difficulty of finding workers with technical expertise that could be taught in high school or community college.One group that has been most insistent about more rigorous standards has been the Texas Association of Business, where employers have complained that Texas has a poorly educated workforce.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
