Chasing the Diploma

Is it really almost 2008? Hard to believe the year's almost over, but the holiday lights and biting cold weather prove it to be true. And as we wind down 2007, the class of 2008 wind up for what they hope will be a very good year -- one in which they'll graduate.

We all know the class of 2008 is the first to be held to our state's new graduation requirements. And while most are on track to receive their diploma, some still need to meet the new standards. But who are these kids? And really, what are we doing to help them? Good questions and ones that schools in the South Sound have answers to. In a three part piece called Chasing the Diploma, the Tacoma News Tribune gives us a good, inside look at the path students are taking to pass the WASL and complete their culminating projects and other graduation requirements.

The first article notes that educators aren't panicked, but schools are mobilizing as never before to target teens most in danger of falling short. South Sound schools are adding math classes to accommodate seniors and juniors who failed the math portion of the WASL, offering reading and writing intervention classes, and have upped the tutoring sessions during and after school.

But to figure out just how far schools in the South Sound have to go, the News Tribune (to their credit!) conducted a survey of their districts. Of the 19 South Sound districts that responded:

• In reading, less than 12 percent still need to pass the WASL or an alternative.

• In writing, 10 percent or fewer need to pass.

• But in math, remaining passage rates vary considerably by school -- from 25 percent in University Place, Peninsula, Puyallup and Yelm to slightly less than half in Franklin Pierce and Bethel.

But contrary to popular belief, the WASL isn't the greatest deterrent to graduation for the class of 2008. In August, a state-commissioned analysis of several unidentified districts suggested that lack of course credits -- the historic barrier to graduation -- would present a far greater challenge than the WASL. And as the News Tribune reports, South Sound districts have said many of the students who haven't passed the WASL are the same ones lagging in credits. In Tacoma alone, 29.5 percent of '08 members are credit-deficient.

So what are districts doing to help? The second part of Chasing the Diploma sums it up nicely for you. From hiring graduation specialists to track test scores, to monitoring individual progress to ensure that kids get the right class and extra help they need, to hiring teachers to help teens assemble class work into a “collection of evidence” -- schools in Pierce County are taking action. Check out this full article for details by district.

And to help us all put a face to the many numbers and rates thrown around, see this article for profiles of four South Sound students, all with different stories, all working hard to graduate.

But as we prepare ourselves for 2008, I think Debra Shmeil, a teacher at Graham-Kapowsin High School said it best:

"If you can read and write and are able to communicate at least at the sophomore level, you should do fine on the WASL or one of the alternatives. If you can't, you shouldn't be able to leave high school with a diploma."