Springfield studies new high school graduation requirements studied

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Springfield School District is discussing how to make high school more challenging, with a goal of improving the students' chances of succeeding after graduation.

Associate superintendent Justin Herrell, who is leading the effort, said too many Springfield graduates have to take remedial education classes when they enter college, The Springfield News-Leader reported.

"There is an evident deficiency in the percentage of our students who are graduating and needing remediation [in college]," Herrell said. "And that is a concern."

Data collected by the district found that the number of students from Springfield's five high schools who enter state public colleges and universities who required remediation in math ranged from a low of 15.5 percent at one high school to a high of 36.8 percent at another. The percentage needed remedial English language arts ranged from 8.1 percent to 22.1 percent. The schools were not identified.

"We absolutely believe that engaging the high school student all four years and certainly enriching the senior year will reduce the number of students who need remediation," Herrell said.

In recent years, Springfield has enacted a program called Persistence to Graduation to increase the number of students who graduate. The program has paid off, with the percentage of Springfield students who graduate within four years at 86.5 percent, and the five-year rate is 88.7 percent. The dropout rate has dropped to just 2.7 percent.

The district launched its review of graduation requirements and college and career readiness in late 2012.

Missouri requires students to earn 24 credits to graduate and Springfield requires 25. Recent data indicated most Springfield graduates have 28 credits or more when they left high school but only 12 percent took four credits in the core areas such as English, math, science and social studies.

The committee decided that raising the number of required courses or the number of core classes wouldn't necessarily better prepare kids and could hinder struggling students, Herrell said.

"What came out of it was a renewed effort to help kids follow their area of interest," he said.

Board vice president Denise Fredrick said it's important to encourage children to think about high school graduation and college as soon as possible.

"If you plant that in a kid's mind early on -- that this is what I've got to take -- it's going to help," she said.

In a recent update to the school board, Herrell said the committee recommended improving high school through a rigorous curriculum that focuses on literacy and 21st century skills; integrating technology, improved teacher training, focusing on pre-K through college and creating closer partnerships with the community.

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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com