Danika Jensen fights through silly string as she celebrates with her fellow students during the Centralia Class of 2019 graduation ceremony at Tiger Stadium.
It’s official: Starting this school year, Washington students no longer need to take a federal test to earn a high-school diploma. Instead, students now have a new menu of options that acknowledge differences in their pursuits after high school.
The state’s Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a set of graduation pathways and other rules at its recent meeting in Bremerton. But some see the changes as a step back, because they think the new requirements lower the bar for earning a diploma.
Washington high schoolers were among the last in the nation required to pass a set of federally mandated tests to graduate. A state law signed this year nixed that requirement, and education officials have spent the past several months crafting alternative pathways.
The new rules could encourage school districts to identify students who may be eligible for one of the new graduation pathways.
“We’re feverishly putting together specific guidance” for students who may qualify for the career technical education (CTE) option, said Caleb Perkins, executive director of college and career readiness for Seattle Public Schools.
Seattle guidance counselors are combing through high school seniors’ transcripts, he said, to see who might benefit from the new rules. But the school district is still deciding which pathways to promote. For instance, he said, school-district officials have not yet discussed whether to promote the military option.
Starting with the class of 2020, students can choose from a long list of pathways that recognize multiple types of learning. The pathways also add flexibility for those interested in options other than a four-year college degree, such as the military or a technical profession. About 34% of Washington students enroll in a four-year college the year after they graduate from high school; 28% seek a two-year associate or technical degree and 38% don’t enroll in a higher-education institution, according to the state’s most recent data.
Students must also still meet a set of credit requirements and complete a personalized “high school and beyond plan” that charts their career and education goals.
“This takes some emphasis off testing in our system, which is a positive thing,” said Randy Spaulding, the state board’s executive director. “It also puts students’ different pathways and their goals on a level playing field.”
Leading up to the board vote, a draft of the rules drew intense interest from parents, education advocacy groups, business leaders and lawmakers. More than 450 people and organizations submitted written comments, board officials said.
In one letter to the board, a group of lawmakers who championed the state law that cut ties between graduation and the federal “Smarter Balanced” tests called the draft proposal “inconsistent with the intent of the legislature.”
Legislators took particular issue with the proposed CTE pathway. The board’s proposal allowed students to take CTE courses in different disciplines. But according to the new law, students in such a pathway must take a sequence of related courses ensuring they’re prepared for additional training or to enter a career.
