ASCD Supports Innovative High School Reform
Key Messages
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We must improve high school so that it is more educationally meaningful for students and better prepares them for continued education or work in a global marketplace.
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High school reform is as varied as the more than 18,000 high schools in the United States. We must give states and districts flexibility and resources to create innovative reforms that meet their local needs.
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Any reform plan should focus on building student engagement and providing courses that are both rigorous and relevant.
Innovative High School Reform: Brief Policy Paper
Current Status
In the budget for fiscal year 2007, President George Bush proposed expanding the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to high schools. The budget includes approximately $1.5 billion for high school reform; more in-depth proposals are anticipated from the Bush administration.
High school reform is a prominent education topic among governors, educators, business groups, and others across the country. Several themes emerge: greater rigor, economic competitiveness, and better preparation for students (both those who are college-bound and those planning to go directly into the workplace). Policymakers throughout the federal, state, and local sectors are interested in making the educational experience for students in grades 9–12 more stringent and more meaningful. Increased attention has also been paid to the need to reduce dropout rates, including the need to improve student engagement. Research has shown that students who are not engaged are at a much higher risk of dropping out. Engaged students not only attend school more, but are also likely to get more out of their time in school because they approach learning more eagerly, seek greater opportunities, and persist in the face of difficulty (Voke, 2002).
ASCD Calls for Flexibility and Resources to Support Innovative High School Reform
ASCD, like many leading policymakers, believes that we must begin to reform high school to make it more educationally meaningful for students while preparing them for continued education or work in a global marketplace. Currently, ASCD is exploring how to improve the overall high school experience and spur greater involvement with communities and businesses.
To accomplish this, ASCD seeks a partnership with the federal government to support and encourage high school reform. The U.S. Congress can create the conditions for innovative high school reform by providing flexibility, autonomy, and resources at the state and local level. Currently, states from Connecticut to Alaska are actively considering varying measures of high school reform. The questions about how to reform high schools are as varied as the states themselves. In some instances, legislative initiatives to reform high schools are driven directly by the state's governor. In other states, high school reform is being addressed by state boards of education or through commissions or panels.
Reform approaches are also varied. Proposed reform approaches include core curriculum, new graduation requirements, exit exams aligned with college entrance exams, dropout prevention programs, more math and science classes, and scholarship programs. The different approaches reflect the varying conditions in each state and the necessity for flexibility and autonomy to meet a wide variety of needs. ASCD calls on the federal government to enable states and school districts to determine which approaches are most effective for each locality's unique situation.
ASCD is opposed to school choice programs that do not provide equal access for all students. We will fail to successfully reform high schools if we rely on programs that send only a few students to select private schools without ensuring equal access for all students. In addition, ASCD remains opposed to policies that evaluate schools, students, and reform methods on the basis of a narrowly constructed testing system.
References
Voke, H. (2002, February). Student engagement: Motivating students to learn. Infobrief #28. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.