Des Moines to consider 'fast-track' diploma to cut dropout rate desmoinesregister.com The Des Moines Register:
"Some Des Moines students would be able to graduate with 18 credits - five fewer than the 23 now needed - under a committee recommendation school board members will consider in the coming weeks.
Students who receive a 'fast-track' diploma would meet all state and district requirements as well as the entrance criteria at Iowa's three state universities, Superintendent Nancy Sebring said.
The proposal comes when school officials nationwide are searching for ways to keep students on pace to graduate from high school rather than dropping out."
And it comes after a period when many of the country's school districts increased the number of credits required to graduate from high school. Study halls were eliminated and school officials added online and after-school courses and summer school as ways students can earn additional credits or make up credits from failed classes.
"I do believe it was sort of credits gone wild in order to prove our students could learn the most," Sebring said. "Ultimately, I think there is a limit on what is reasonable for high school students."
Sebring and others believe that the increased number of credits needed to graduate play a role in a district's dropout rate. And that belief has prompted some districts to re-examine their course requirements and diploma options for students.
"Some Des Moines students would be able to graduate with 18 credits - five fewer than the 23 now needed - under a committee recommendation school board members will consider in the coming weeks.
Students who receive a 'fast-track' diploma would meet all state and district requirements as well as the entrance criteria at Iowa's three state universities, Superintendent Nancy Sebring said.
The proposal comes when school officials nationwide are searching for ways to keep students on pace to graduate from high school rather than dropping out."
And it comes after a period when many of the country's school districts increased the number of credits required to graduate from high school. Study halls were eliminated and school officials added online and after-school courses and summer school as ways students can earn additional credits or make up credits from failed classes.
"I do believe it was sort of credits gone wild in order to prove our students could learn the most," Sebring said. "Ultimately, I think there is a limit on what is reasonable for high school students."
Sebring and others believe that the increased number of credits needed to graduate play a role in a district's dropout rate. And that belief has prompted some districts to re-examine their course requirements and diploma options for students.