Career Diploma Promoted
Superintendent White has just launched a major effort to breathe life into the Career Diploma. Why is this necessary when Louisiana is in the middle of implementing the common core curriculum? Why another major initiative? Let's look at the recent history of the high school diploma in Louisiana.
Louisiana education leaders have been on a mission to upgrade our high school curriculum for at least ten years now. The revelation by the Board of Regents several years ago that only 23% of our students were achieving a 4 year college degree, was shocking and considered to be an indictment of Louisiana's high school curriculum. Statistics were produced that showed that workers who had achieved at least a Bachelor's degree would have much greater lifetime earnings than students who entered the job force with only a high school diploma. Everyone agreed that something must be done immediately to better prepare our students for college. State education leaders concluded that the high school curriculum must be upgraded to align with college prep requirements. The Core 4 diploma was created which included all the high school courses recommended by the Board of Regents as necessary for students to succeed in college. Guidance counselors and high school principals were encouraged to get as many students enrolled in core 4 as possible. The idea was that students must be forced to do what we as adults knew "was good for them." You know, kind of like years ago when
Louisiana education leaders have been on a mission to upgrade our high school curriculum for at least ten years now. The revelation by the Board of Regents several years ago that only 23% of our students were achieving a 4 year college degree, was shocking and considered to be an indictment of Louisiana's high school curriculum. Statistics were produced that showed that workers who had achieved at least a Bachelor's degree would have much greater lifetime earnings than students who entered the job force with only a high school diploma. Everyone agreed that something must be done immediately to better prepare our students for college. State education leaders concluded that the high school curriculum must be upgraded to align with college prep requirements. The Core 4 diploma was created which included all the high school courses recommended by the Board of Regents as necessary for students to succeed in college. Guidance counselors and high school principals were encouraged to get as many students enrolled in core 4 as possible. The idea was that students must be forced to do what we as adults knew "was good for them." You know, kind of like years ago when
