High schoolers may have to work harder

Thousands of North Carolina students entering high school next fall could face tougher graduation requirements under a proposal from state education leaders.

Within two years, all students would be expected to complete the same courses now required of students planning to attend a four-year college. That would mean thousands of additional students would need to complete two years of a foreign language as well as more -- and more demanding -- math courses.

The State Board of Education wants to set a more challenging curriculum as a universal standard to ensure that high school students are better prepared and have more options when they graduate.

"It's important for us to say we need to take action and be bold and say this is what we need to do as a state," board member Tricia Willoughby said Wednesday during a discussion over the timing of the tougher requirements.

About 65 percent of high school graduates statewide in 2006 completed the classes required for admission into UNC system schools.

By 2008, more than 30,000 students could be required to take the more challenging curriculum regardless of whether they apply to a college.

Currently, all high school freshmen are required to select from one of three programs -- college-prep, college tech-prep and career-prep.

A timeline presented to the board would mean that ninth-graders beginning in fall 2008 would be subject to the college-prep course requirements. As an interim step, ninth-graders beginning next fall would be required to choose between the current college-prep course of study and a program that doesn't require foreign language or four years of math. The least challenging program, called career-prep, would be dropped.

Board members stopped short of approving a framework for the plan and were undecided about when to schedule a vote. The board has planned community meetings across the state in January to explain the plan and gather reactions from educators and parents.

Several board members said they want to take steps to better communicate the proposal before approving it.

"This is major, and we can't go out shooting from the hip," said Edgar Murphy, a member from Durham. "If we vote too soon, it will create opposition because people will perceive it's being rammed down their throats."

The state's school administrators are urging caution.

"No one questions rigorous standards," said Bill McNeal, executive director of the N.C. Association of School Administrators. "The issue for us is we want to make certain we're part of the discussion."

He said that educators want to be sure that all the potential consequences have been considered. His group is asking that the adoption of a universal core curriculum be delayed until the fall of 2009, without an interim step.

Larry Price, superintendent of Wilson County schools and an advisor to the board, warned members that many districts will struggle with the new standard.

"The reality is there are going to be huge challenges," Price said. "Don't put us in the position that we're going to fail."

North Carolina's push for higher expectations is part of a national initiative called the American Diploma Project that state leaders joined last year. In all, 26 states are included in the effort, which is aimed at increasing high school graduation rates and ensuring that all students are prepared for work or college.

Several states already have taken steps to adopt a single "default" curriculum that all students follow unless they opt out, usually with parent consent. Among those states are Indiana, Michigan, Texas and Arkansas.

The proposal in North Carolina would allow students to enroll in courses other than foreign language or a math above the level of algebra II if recommended by a team of educators in the school.

But advocates for students from poor families worry that the tougher requirements could mean more students dropping out.

"It's an admirable goal to want our students to be prepared for the 21st century," said Angela Dunston, director of the Education and Law Project for the N.C. Justice Center. "But we need to have the mechanisms in place to help them do that."