Jana Carlisle, executive director of the Partnership for Learning.
During the past 20 years, Washington’s education system has made great strides in its ability to prepare students for their future work and life. However, global competition and technological innovation continue to accelerate at an astonishing rate.
If we are to close the state’s persistent skills and achievement gaps – as evidenced by national and international comparisons – schools must continually improve by enhancing their capacity for helping students meet the challenges of the future.
Every student, regardless of his or her income level, gender, ethnicity, or career aspirations, deserves a 21st century education. And considering that nearly 70 percent of jobs by 2020 will require postsecondary education or training by 2020, it’s a must that we provide it.
This is why the Partnership for Learning, the education foundation of the Washington Roundtable, and our partners in the Excellent Schools Now (ESN) coalition have been working for almost 10 years to ensure that Washington’s high school students graduate with the right number and mix of courses and credits so that they can pursue any path they choose — whether it’s a two- or four-year college, other technical training, the military, or employment.
Washington has one of the lowest credit graduation requirements in the nation at 20 — just four in 10 graduating seniors currently meet the basic requirements for admission into a state four-year university. Additionally, just six in 10 Washington graduating seniors are considered “qualified applicants” by Washington employers, a statistic backed up by a 2013 Washington Roundtable job skills gap study showing there are currently 25,000 unfilled highly skilled jobs in our state.
By allowing Washington school districts the ability to award their students outdated diplomas, we continue to exacerbate cultural and economic inequities and the subsequent gaps in opportunity and achievement.
Earning a high school diploma signifies that a student is prepared for the next phase of his or her life. The graduation requirements students must achieve to earn a high school diploma should reflect the 21st century skills and knowledge that are required of all students – regardless of his/her post-secondary pathway.
The State Board of Education has spent significant time during the past several years researching and discussing which skills and knowledge they believe all students must possess before graduating high school. Their recommendations are outlined in the “Washington State Career and College-Ready Graduation Requirements”—a set of 24 credits that the State Board believes will prepare all students for postsecondary education, gainful employment and citizenship.
The Partnership supports the State Board’s 24-credit diploma and the flexibility it has built into the requirements to provide students the opportunity to engage in technology and arts courses.
Last year, lawmakers passed components of the graduation requirements, including funding for its implementation, but the Legislature did not pass a bill to actually enact the 24-credit diploma. Two House bills (HB 2181 and HB 1656) stalled last week, but Senate Bill 6092, a close companion to HB 2181, received a hearing last Tuesday. We support of SB 6092 because we want all Washington students to have the opportunity to work in the jobs of today and tomorrow and not cede these opportunities to better educated candidates outside of Washington.
Education has always been the great equalizer in our society. But in the knowledge-driven economy awaiting the students of today and tomorrow, it’s even more critical to their prospects for a rewarding career and meaningful engagement in society.
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