NJ has decided to make high school harder. Now the challenge will be to make it better.

On June 17, the NJ State Board of Education approved Commissioner Lucille Davy’s High School Redesign proposals. The proposals will increase high school graduation requirements as follows:

• Phase I requires Algebra I, Lab Biology and four years of college prep English for all new freshman who entered high school in September 2008;
• Phase II adds Geometry, Chemistry, Physics or Environmental Science and an “economic/financial literacy” requirement for new freshman in September 2010;
• Phase III adds a third lab science course and a third advanced math course for new freshman in September 2012.

The plan also authorizes creation of a new category of State tests called “competency assessments.” These will be end-of-course exams that students have to pass in the required courses.  Last year, the Governor’s High School Redesign Steering Committee recommended that passing six exams be required to earn a diploma. The American Diploma Project, which served as the model for the original plans, also calls for multiple high-stakes graduation tests.

However, during the yearlong process of securing the State Board’s approval for the proposals, the Commissioner tried to downplay the role of the new tests and their potential impact on NJ’s graduation and dropout rates. The proposals were also modified slightly in response to extensive public comment and concern from a wide variety of constituencies including urban parents, the NJ Math and Science Educators Coalition, County Vocational-Technical Schools, NJEA, the Garden State Coalition of Schools, and the NJ Education Organizing Collaborative, to name a few. Many key decisions are still to be determined, including the timeline for implementing the new tests and the number that will be required to graduate.

Currently, the NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) is piloting new tests in Biology, Algebra I and Algebra II. A March 9 memo to school districts said, “The department will provide further updates on the schedule for these tests, and when they count for graduation in the coming months.” The Commissioner also hopes to receive federal funds and combine with other states to develop new tests as part of the national campaign to develop “common core” national standards and assessments.

The new graduation standards and course requirements will pose special challenges for districts and schools that have struggled to meet existing state standards and the escalating benchmarks of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In the past year, NJDOE has:

• retreated from Abbott commitments including the Secondary Education Initiative;
• adopted a new school funding formula that will flat fund most urban districts for years;
• passed tougher graduation requirements with no dedicated new resources;
• scaled back plans for “personalized student learning plans” from a statewide mandate for all students to a two-year pilot program in 16 schools.

In passing the new graduation requirements, State Board members repeatedly said their goal was to “close the gap” between urban and suburban students and improve academic performance and outcomes.

“The task,” said Board Commissioner Arcelio Aponte, “is to ensure that urban kids can meet these standards and hold districts accountable. That’s the work of the Board: equity and accountability to close the achievement gap.”

With the new policies now in place, the State Board faces a high stakes test of its own to make good on these promises.

Prepared: July 1, 2009