Posted on: Thursday, May 13, 2004

EDITORIAL
'Tougher' academic policy is long overdue

One hears a great deal about "standards" these days when folks talk about public education.

Our schools, our teachers and our students should be held to high standards, we say.

In fact, setting high standards and then rigorously measuring whether they have been met is the cornerstone of the federal No Child Left Behind education law.

Fair enough. But how tough a standard is it when students are considered to have successfully completed their work simply by taking required courses?

As reported by Education Writer Derrick DePledge, Hawai'i's schools have been following a policy where, in some middle school classes, there was no need to pass; just take the course.

By any measurement, that is an absurdly low standard. But beginning next year, under a new Department of Education policy, middle schoolers will not only have to take classes in language arts, math, science and social studies, they will have to pass the courses.

This is part of a new, more rigorous policy for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders to make sure they are ready for high school and the challenge of core classes and electives they will face.

It also makes a strong statement about the dangers of social promotion, in which students are moved ahead with the age cohort, no matter what their academic performance.

Educators have long recognized that most students can and will succeed when faced with vigorous academic challenges. We ask nothing of them that they cannot accomplish, with the right amount of instruction and inspiration.

This new rule, long overdue, will present new challenges and do a better job of preparing our youngsters for the challenges of the 21st century.