EdWeek: Policy Push Redefining High School

Policy Push Redefining High School
State activities surge, but college readiness elusive.
By Lynn Olson

State activities to better prepare high school students for the demands of work and college spiked noticeably in the past year, according to a 50-state survey to be released this week.

A dozen states report aligning their academic standards for high schools with the expectations for college success, up from just five a year ago. Twenty-seven more states report that they are engaged in such activities.

Thirteen states now require students to complete a college-preparatory curriculum to earn a diploma; another 16 plan to adopt such requirements. And nearly every state reports that it has or is working on a data system to track the progress of individual students from preschool through college.
‘Real-World Demands’

“There’s been awareness building in a variety of ways for the need to have more rigorous expectations for high school graduation that really reflect the real-world demands students are going to face when they leave,” said Michael Cohen, the president of the Washington-based Achieve, which conducted the survey this past fall.

More here:http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/04/18/33achieve.h26.html