Ohio Graduation Crisis Countdown

Ohio has changed High School graduation requirements, which has many concerned that massive numbers of students will fail to graduate. Concern is so great that Ohio superintendents protested at the Statehouse late last year.

As one educator noted

The reality in Ohio is that we are preparing to refuse a diploma to 30% of our students statewide. In urban areas like the one in which I teach, the rate of non-graduates will be far higher, 40-70% depending on the city. We are punishing students to solve nonexistent problems, with an unproven assessment system that cannot measure the soft skills students need to be successful in college and on the job.

We've been told that the 3 paths to graduation will solve the graduation problem, but the viability of the multiple paths is a myth. The WorkKeys path reaches terribly few vocational students, and those who can earn a remediation free score on the ACT are the same students who are on pace to graduate through the state assessment path. Three paths are a misnomer if fewer students graduate.

Now in full blown crisis mode, a taskforce has been formed to figure out how to un-mess the mess. They don't have much time. The first meeting, according to an ODE press release is scheduled for January 18th.

Graduation Requirements Workgroup to Meet January 18
The Superintendent of Public Instruction will hold a Graduation Requirements Workgroup meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 4:00 p.m. at the Ohio Department of Education, 25 South Front Street, Columbus.

The State Board of Education’s Standards and Graduation Committee discussed Ohio’s graduation requirements during its December meeting. The committee, and ultimately the full board, passed a resolution to direct the Superintendent of Public Instruction to create a work group to review the graduation requirements and consider any alternative approaches as they relate to the class of 2018.

The superintendent will present a recommendation to the Standards and Graduation Committee by the April 2017 board meeting.

We need a lot fewer amateurs involved in public education in Ohio.