LAUSD Eyes Lower Graduation Standards To Curb Dropouts April 18, 2012 9:32 AM (CBS) Reporting Pete Demetriou LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Officials with the Los Angeles Unified School District were considering a plan on Wednesday that would lower standards for graduation and even allow students to pass key classes with a “D” grade.KNX 1070′s Pete Demetriou reports the nation’s second-largest school district may be forced to backtrack on its plan to raise its academic standards. Actual data from the class of 2011 showed only 15 percent of graduates were able to qualify for the University of California or Cal State University systems, while almost half failed to complete their college-prep courses. Now just eight years after the Board of Education adopted higher standards for graduates, officials believe that unless the lowered standards are implemented, there could be a flood of dropouts in as little as 4 years unless students are given a chance to retake or study harder to pass college prep classes. Former board member David Tokafsky, he was a member of the LAUSD board when the higher graduation standards were originally approved, denounced the plan and said that setting low standards sends the wrong message to kids who work hard in class. “It just basically tells a kid who’s trying to shoot a free throw, ‘Come on up to 6 feet and shoot it from there’,” said Tokafsky. The proposal would reduce the number of credits required to graduate from 230 down to 170, along with eliminating elective requirements such as health, technology and calculus.Tokafsky said teachers in the district’s middle schools in particular are in need of special attention when it comes to preparing students for the next level. “Clearly kids grades 4 through 8 need additional help,” said Tokafsky. “The teachers in fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade need help with math and science because they study liberal arts education, they don’t have the strength in math and science in the numbers that we need.” No date for a final vote on whether to implement the lowered standards has been set. http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/ |
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