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A Third of the Class of 2018 May Not Be Able to Get Their High School Diplomas

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OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

The Class of 2018 in Ohio’s high schools will be the first to choose their route to graduation – pass some state tests, take a college entrance exam or earn an industry credential.

But new numbers show as much as a third of those students won’t be able to get their diplomas when those new graduation standards take effect next year. That has the state’s education leaders scrambling to make changes.

 

The Ohio Department of Education’snew figures show some districts and charter schools could see graduation rates plummet by as much as 70 percent because kids won’t be able to get 18 points on seven state tests, achieve a minimum score on a college entrance exam, or get an industry credential.

Damon Asbury with the Ohio School Boards Associationsays the state has changed the standards midstream and that could be a reason for poor performance in low-income and minority-dominated schools.

“Well, I think, in general, it’s a mess.”

The state superintendent is expected to offer students other graduation options. But lawmakers would have to approve the alternatives, and some have indicated they don’t want the requirements lowered.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment. Jo started her career in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 80’s when she helped produce a televised presidential debate for ABC News, worked for a creative services company and served as a general assignment report for a commercial radio station. In 1989, she returned back to her native Ohio to work at the WOSU Stations in Columbus where she began a long resume in public radio.