Task for class of 2010: Decipher project rules

The idea was to ensure that students leave high school with a better grasp of real life. And starting with the class of 2010, the idea will be a requirement. Every graduate must have completed a long-term project involving the world outside of school.

But now it seems the idea itself may need some remedial help. School districts find the rules fraught with practical problems.

For instance, a key to the project is finding an outside mentor in a student's chosen subject. But school districts say finding such volunteers is proving difficult, especially in rural areas.

Parents and educators say the graduation project mandate is so vague that school districts are applying widely varying interpretations and requirements.

Some schools will grade parts of the project, though the state prefers a pass/fail system. Students are on different timetables for starting their work, depending on where they go to school. Some juniors have begun working on their projects, while others are just learning what's required.

And some parents and school administrators worry that requiring students to complete an ambitious project before they graduate will push up the 30 percent dropout rate.

"It's going to create a barrier for a lot of kids who really don't need those kinds of barriers in their lives," said Michael Gruver, the parent of a Charlotte high school junior.

Gruver, who works for a distribution company, said he was astonished at the complicated instruction manual his daughter brought home from Myers Park High School.

The skills that the graduation project is supposed to develop would not be needed in anyone he'd look to hire, Gruver said. The state would do better by struggling students to reinforce reading and math.

"There are many things that would help them," he said. "A project like this is not one of them."

Fears that the new requirement will keep students from graduating are unfounded, said Bryar T. Cougle, the project coordinator for the state Department of Public Instruction. Students who fail the first time will have a chance to revise their work until they pass, he said. Questions about the project are expected in the first year, he said, as districts figure out how to manage it.

"Different schools are transitioning from what they do now to new ways," Cougle said.

School administrators said the requirements are broad because districts should adapt the program to make it fit for them.

At Wake County parent meetings, some say they still aren't sure what's required, said Sarah Martin, Wake County PTA Council president.

Parents seek help

"The parents that we've heard from are just looking for guidance," she said. Some schools have kept parents informed about the requirements and what they'll need to do to help their children complete the project, she said. Other schools have been slow to get the information out.

"It would be nice if the state put out some more concrete guidelines," she said.

State officials see the project as a way for students to learn about planning and research. At the end, students will have to describe their project to a small group of adults who will evaluate the presentations.

The State Board of Education decided to make the projects a graduation requirement in part because employers want to hire people who can solve problems and express ideas to their bosses.

"The graduation project is a more comprehensive assessment that shows you not just what students know, but what they're able to do with what they know," said Patricia Willoughby, a state school board member and executive director of the North Carolina Business Committee for Education, a nonprofit run out of the governor's office.