Yesterday, at the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) conference at the Westin in downtown Seattle, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn announced his new plans for math and science graduation requirements to an audience of over 1,000 statewide school board members.

Dorn, elected as a reformer last year, said it was necessary to postpone stricter graduation requirements for math until the class of 2015, and all graduation requirements for science until the class of 2017, to give students and teachers appropriate time to adjust to pending reforms.

For math graduation requirements until 2015, Dorn is okay with giving students a fall back option of earning two credits of math after tenth grade in order to graduate (a choice that is set to disappear in 2013) in place of passing a set of exams.  Reformers want the scheduled changes—getting rid of the additional course work graduation option—to kick in for the class of 2013. They want students to have to pass either a state exam or two end-of-course exams to graduate starting in 2013—without Dorn's fallback.

For 2015 and onward, Dorn offered a two-tier proposal: Students either meet the proficiency level in two end-of-course exams or students meet the basic level in the exams and earn four math credits. Students who don't meet the basic level in the exams have the option of retesting with a comprehensive exam or using state-approved alternatives such as the SAT.

As far as the science graduation requirement, Dorn proposed postponing any requirements until the class of 2017, and replacing the current comprehensive assessment with end-of-course assessments in physical and life sciences. The 2010 legislature (starting this January) is supposed to define the science requirements.

Dorn explained the delay would allow teachers and students to assess whether the end-of-course exams and new strategies were effective before being implemented as graduation requirements.

Dorn said his proposed changes would improve educational standards in Washington and lead to higher proficiency in math and science—adding that he approved national common curriculum in science and supported the need for unified school standards.

Not everyone agrees that Dorn’s proposals would strengthen Washington’s schools. State Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48)—who led the fight to pass last year's education reform bill—told PubliCola that Dorn’s plan would simultaneously lower the level of the math and science curriculum and not require the number of years students needed for students to be competitive. Hunter accused Dorn of lowering the bar.

UPDATE:

Governor Chris Gregoire also disagrees with Dorn's proposal. She released this statement:

"I oppose the proposal. As our state and global economies become more technically driven, we need to ensure that our students leave high school highly-trained in math and science so they can qualify for Washington state jobs or entry into training and higher education programs of their choosing.

“Our students are capable of mastering our state's standards in math and science. They have shown us their capacity to meet our expectations in the past. Schools I visited recently give me every indication that when students know the work is important they dig in and make the most of it.

“We can't lower our standards in math, nor can we communicate that science is not important. We must prepare our students for their future. There is every reason to focus attention on the math and science learning needs of our students so they can succeed after high school. The Superintendent is concerned about the graduation rate. I am concerned about the bigger picture—preparing kids for life. I think parents share that concern.”

Dorn's proposal could also put Washington state's accesss to federal education dollars at risk. I'll report more on that soon.