Eight states will introduce a program next year allowing 10th graders who pass a battery of tests to get a diploma two years early and enroll in community college. This approach would be substantively different from early enrollment or dual credit programs at many Texas community colleges, where students attend high school and college simultaneously. It would also be distinct from Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.
Students who pass the exams but want to attend a selective college or university may continue with college prep classes, organizers of the new effort say. Students who fail the 10th-grade tests, known as board exams, can try again at the end of their 11th and 12th grades. The tests "would cover not only English and math but also subjects like science and history," according to an article by Sam Dillon in the New York Times (registration).
The project is organized by the National Center on Education and the Economy, with goals to insure that students have mastered a set of basic requirements and to reduce the numbers of high school graduates who need remedial courses in college. Reportedly, over a million college freshmen across America must take remedial courses each year, and a high percentage drop out before getting a degree. The states also intend to apply for federal stimulus money to help defray the costs, according to the article. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is involved as well.
Here's a key passage from the NYT piece:
"Its backers say the new system would reduce the need for community colleges to offer remedial courses because the passing score for the 10th-grade tests would be set at the level necessary to succeed in first-year college courses. Failure would provide 10th graders with an early warning system about the knowledge and skills they need to master in high school before seeking to enroll in college."
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