New High School Graduation Requirements Preparing Tennessee’s Students for The New Economy

1. New High SchoolGraduation RequirementsPreparing Tennessee’s Students for The New Economy

2. Contact Information State Board of Education Gary Nixon, Executive Director Gary.nixon@tn.gov Gary’s Blog: http://garynixon.wordpress.com

3. The New Economy • The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s adult learner (18 and up) will have _________ jobs by the time they are 38. • Students beginning a 4-year technical degree today will begin learning information that is outdated by their _____ year of studies. 10 to 14 3rd

4. The New Economy • 1 in ____ workers have been at their job for less than one year. • 1 in ____ workers have been at their job for less than five years. 4 2

5. In the new economy… …workers must expect change in the pursuit of careers that require more and more learning beyond high school.

6. What’s the outlook for the new ecomomy’s fastest growing and best paying jobs?

8. How are we doing in preparing ourstudents for the neweconomy?

9. Are Tennessee Students Proficient? • Spring 2007… National Chamber of Commerce comparison report card of key education factors in all states: • Tennessee made an “F” in the category of Truth in Advertising…comparing Tennessee proficiency (our state assessments) to National proficiency (NAEP)

10. Is there a gap between achievement on state assessments and NAEP?

11. Today Beginning 2009-10 Performance Measures

12. Workforce Readiness Benchmarks • ACT’s research has found that the skills required to be ready for college are the SAME SKILLS required to succeed and advance in the career and technical workforce.http://www.act.org/path/policy/pdf/ReadinessBrief.pdf

13. ACT Readiness Benchmarks

16. What Are We Learning? Being ready is really, really important for ALL Students. It is important that students who are not ready catch up as early as possible.

17. What Are We Learning? Students who score, or are projected to score, more than two points below the Explore readiness benchmark score should receive extensive intervention. ACT has found that students who score more than 2 points below the Explore readiness benchmark scores rarely catch up and usually do not graduate.

18. What Are We Learning? Tennessee needs to more than double the rate at which students earn a postsecondary credential. Tennessee needs to develop seamless paths from the middle grades through high school to postsecondary completion.

19. The underworked American: Children are exceptions to the country’s work ethicThe Economist, June 11, 2009 • American children have it easier than most other children in the world, including the supposedly lazy Europeans. • They have one of the shortest school years anywhere, a mere 180 days compared with an average of 195 for OECD countries and more than 200 for East Asian countries. • German children spend 20 more days in school than American ones. • South Koreans over a month more. • Over 12 years, a 15-day deficit means American children lose out on 180 days of school, equivalent to an entire year.

20. The underworked American: Children are exceptions to the country’s work ethicThe Economist, June 11, 2009 • American children also have one of the shortest school days, six-and-a-half hours, adding up to 32 hours a week. • By contrast, the school week is 37 hours in Luxembourg, 44 in Belgium, 53 in Denmark and 60 in Sweden. • On top of that, American children do only about an hour’s-worth of homework a day, a figure that stuns the Japanese and Chinese.

21. How do we prepare ourstudents to be college or career ready?

22. H S Graduation Requirements Changes that begin with the graduating class of 2013, this year’s 9th graders, include: • curriculum aligned with ACHIEVE’s standards • new EOC assessments • transition from Gateway to EOC as percentage of grade • graduation requirements increased to 22 (including a fourth credit in math, ½ credit in personal finance, and ½ credit in PE) • either chemistry or physics as one of three science courses • one diploma for all students • 3 credit elective focus

23. H S Graduation Requirements English - 4 Credits: • English I - 1 Credit • English II - 1 Credit • English III - 1 Credit • AP Language and Composition • English IV - 1 Credit • AP English Literature or Composition • IB Language I • Communications for Life

24. H S Graduation Requirements Math - 4 Credits: (Students must take a math class each year) • Algebra I - 1 Credit • Geometry - 1 Credit • Algebra II - 1 Credit • Upper level Math: - 1 Credit • Bridge Math Students who have not earned a 19 on the mathematics component of the ACT by the beginning of the senior year are recommended to complete the Bridge Math course. • Capstone Math • Adv. Algebra and Trigonometry. • STEM Math (Pre-Calculus, Calculus, or Statistics)

25. H S Graduation Requirements Science - 3 Credits: • Biology I - 1 Credit • Chemistry or Physics - 1 Credit • AP Physics (B or C) • Principles of Technology I and II • Another Lab. Science - 1 Credit

26. H S Graduation Requirements Social Studies – 3.0 Credits: • W. History or W. Geography – 1 Credit • AP World History, Modern History, Ancient History, European History • U.S. History – 1 Credit • AP U.S. History, IB History of the Americas HL (2 Years) • Economics – .5 Credit • Government – .5 Credit • AP U.S. Government, IB History of the Americas HL (2 Years), JROTC (3 Years), ABLS

27. H S Graduation Requirements P. E. and Wellness – 1.5 Credits: • Wellness– 1 Credit • Physical Education – .5 Credit • The physical education requirement may be met by substituting an equivalent time of physical activity in other areas including but not limited to marching band, JROTC, cheerleading, interscholastic athletics, and school sponsored intramural athletics. Personal Finance – .5 Credit

28. H S Graduation Requirements Fine Art, Foreign Lang., and Elective Focus – 6 Credits: • Fine Art – 1 Credit • Foreign Language – 2 Credits (Same) • Elective Focus – 3 Credits • Students completing a CTE elective focus must complete three units in the same CTE program area or state approved program of study. • science and math, humanities, fine arts, or AP/IB • other area approved by local Board of Education • The Fine Art and Foreign Language requirements may be waived for students who are sure they are not going to attend a University and be replaced with courses designed to enhance and expand the elective focus.

29. A Parting Thought: “Life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain!Vivian Greene