Dr. Eric Mackey, superintendent of the Jacksonville City School System, updated the Board of Education on new graduation requirements being considered by the state board during their work session Monday night.The new requirements, which have yet to be finalized by the state, will go into effect with Fall 2009’s freshman class.
According to Mackey, changes being discussed are:
• Putting all students on track for an advanced diploma. The new diploma would require standard classes in all subjects and students would be required to take algebra II and two years of a foreign language. Ways for students to opt-out of the advanced track and go back to a standard diploma are still being discussed, including an opt-out for individualized education plan students.
• Adding endorsements for advanced career tech, career tech and credit-based diplomas.
• Requiring “online experience” for each student. The state will establish a list of skills each child should learn prior to graduation.
• Credit recovery and credit advancement. Students who fail a course with a grade between 40 and 59 may be allowed to remediate the class by learning only the parts of the course they failed to grasp. This allows students to recapture credit toward graduation without having to take a complete course over. Credit advancement allows students with a high level of ability in a subject to skip a course by taking a test. The score received on the test would be their grade for the class.
• Changes to annual testing including the creation of a new Alabama math, reading and science test and the eventual elimination of the SAT-10. The state board is also considering changes to the Alabama Graduation Exam.
“There’s going to be some clamoring from people that we’re making the advanced diploma easier, and we are, statewide, but what they found out in doing the research was not all systems were doing that anyway. In other words, some systems were just requiring basic English 9 and basic English 10, they weren’t requiring advanced level to get an advanced diploma,” said Mackey.
Once the Alabama Board of Education finalizes the changes, which they hope will standardize advanced diplomas and grading systems, local boards throughout the state will have to enact policy changes to adhere to the new standards. According to Mackey that would mean at least four policy changes toward the end of this school year in preparation for next year’s freshman class.
One policy change the board will look to add is another new diploma for students who take honors classes. The honors diploma, as it is being tentatively called, will follow the current advanced diploma requirements for Jacksonville High School students. Designations of cum laude and suma cum laude are being considered for students with high grade point averages in the honors courses.
Mackey also discussed Amendment 1, which will appear on the November 4 ballot, with the board. This amendment would allow funds to be borrowed from the state’s oil and gas trust fund by the education trust fund, reducing the amount of proration. It would, essentially, an interest free loan and would have to be paid back within six years.
“This year all the numbers I’ve seen are calling for between four and six percent proration unless the amendment passes; then it will be something like 1.2 to 1.5 percent, which obviously will be much better for us, for everyone. So, we really need it to pass,” said Mackey. “It’s a one-time measure because once the money is borrowed out, until it’s repaid, it won’t be there for next year.”
He told the board he plans to send notices home with students over the next week encouraging parents to vote for the measure.
