In addition to getting passing grades, maintaining a good attendance record and abiding by the school’s policies – standard graduation requirements for any public high school – students of one school district in Oregon will be required to meet a third requirement in order to graduate: get into college.
The Corbett School District Superintendent Randy Trani posted a proposal for the new requirement on the school’s website in September. His explanation behind the new requirement is that it will help expand student’s options for the future. “When a student graduates from Corbett High School what we want to give EVERY one of them is the choice to follow a path of their choosing, either right at that moment, or a few years down the line,” he claims in his proposal.
Each student would be required to apply and be accepted into an institution of higher education, but they would not be obligated to attend. Trani clarifies that this new requirement could not stop a student from graduating, as all Oregon high school graduates are eligible for spots at local community colleges as long as they apply.
Detractors say Trani and Corbett High School Principle Phil Pearson are not concerned with their students’ future success so much as they’re concerned with the school’s national ranking.
Back in 2005, Trani instituted a “AP for All” policy that required students to take at least six Advanced Placement courses in order to receive a diploma. This initiative worked insofar that it landed the high school on Newsweek’s top 10 list of America’s Best High Schools by 2009.
Corbett began paying for juniors to take the SATs after its ranking had dropped, but that did little to help its status. The school ended up at number 58 on Newsweek’s list.
“I see this as nothing more than a ploy to create the rankings like he did in ‘AP for All,’” Corbett parent Karina Lande told the Oregonian. Trani of course denies this claim and explains that his invention is to give students choices.
The school district board will vote on this new proposal in December, and according to local outlet, KPTV-KPDX, it is expected to pass.