Increasing the rigor of Washington schools

An argument for increasing rigor in Washington state's public-education system comes from this factoid: High-school students can graduate with straight A's but still fall short of college requirements.

The culprit is low academic standards, especially in math. State high-school graduation requirements include a math requirement that doesn't meet the level required by the University of Washington and other stateinstitutions.Credit the state Board of Education for seeking to inject rigor and accountability in the public system. If the board has its way — and it should — high-school graduation requirements will change for the better. Students will be required to pass Algebra II to graduate, a critical baseline since students unprepared for college-level math must take a remedial course, Algebra II.

Testifying before Washington Learns, the education panel convened by Gov. Christine Gregoire, representatives from state work-force training and vocational programs said young adults entering the work force need math knowledge at least at the Algebra II level. Increasing the credits required for graduation from 19 to 24 is another proposed change that offers rigor without sacrificing arts, music, civics and other key courses.

The state board is expected to vote on the new requirements in July. The vote should be a unanimous "yes." Why wait? Others haven't. The Bellingham School District changed its requirements to mirror admissions requirements at Western Washington University.

Improvements can only help at the local level. In Seattle, Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson's five-year strategic plan seeks, among many things, to improve Seattle Public Schools' 62 percent graduation rate.

The rigor injected by new standards ought to address another weak spot: college readiness. Just 17 percent of Seattle's high-school graduates meet the minimum requirements for enrollment at Washington's state colleges and universities.

An increase in credits needed for graduation will require a shift at high schools from five periods a day to six. The state pays for five, forcing many districts, such as Seattle and Bellevue, to use levy funds. But this exacerbates the inequalities among large, small, rural and urban districts. The Legislature must fund the change in graduation requirements.