State Grad Requirements Not Making the Grade for Public Universities
May 12, 2018
A recent Center for American Progress report finds that while high school graduation rates have soared in recent years “in the vast majority of states, simply attaining a high school diploma does not qualify students to attend a public university.” Study co-author Laura Jimenez said, “There really just isn’t agreement within the states about what it means to be college- and career-ready, and that’s why we’re seeing these different sets of policies.” The Every Student Succeeds Act ensures states and school districts have control over their standards and accountability systems, but as was demonstrated in the Check State Plans independent peer review, many states’ ESSA plans have set graduation-rate goals that are not in step with proficiency-rate goals for students.