<p>Ok so alot of high schools (in florida) that I know of are adoption the "18 credit graduation" you take certain classes and graduate with 18 credits, meaning a year early graduation. You have to attend community college if you intend on going to a university because universities sometimes prefer you have more about 22 credits. If your child asked you if they could do this would you agree?</p>
<p>Personally I think its a waste of time, Its a rush to finish high school. Why not spend that extra year in high school and enjoy your senior year and then go to a university. It's different if the student has no intention of farthering their education then the situtaion is completely different.</p>
<p>It's interesting that FL is going in that direction. MI is going in the opposite direction, increasing graduation requirements. In fact, students are worried because they no longer have room for flunking classes if they want to graduate in 4 years. The spin is that it's in response to NCLB, so if that's true ... I am surprised FL is requiring fewer credits. </p>
<p>One of the big changes in MI is that all students will be required to take math through Algebra 2 (meaning, Alg1,geom,Alg2). Unless the schools strengthen math in earlier grades, Alg2 will keep kids from graduating, IMO. Another requirement is either chem or physics. As a result, we are pushing for honors science classes in our district; otherwise, these will become too watered down for college prep.</p>
<p>Kelsmom -- and that is just one of the reasons I'm glad my youngest graduates in 5 months. The curriculum at our high school is already weak enough. It's going to be bad when those new regulations water everything down.</p>
<p>Where is education going to end up ina few years? My bestfriend in Wisconsin has been telling me how crazy the requirements are, shes having a hard time. But she isn't having a hard time because she's a bad student but because she moved from Florida and to wisconsin where you been more credits from graduation. Luckily she's a junior and she still has time to get the credits she needs but as for her sister who is a senior, she won't be graduating this year because of built requirements and recovery of past failed credits.</p>
<p>Actually, I think this a way for FL to cut it's public education costs. If the students graduate early and go to community college, then the cost is on the student, not on the district. Schools will be off the hook for offering higher level classes because if you want those types of classes, you can just take the early graduation option and attend CC for a year.</p>
<p>Many students around here (Florida) opt for CC classes rather than AP during high school. The conventional wisdom is that the equivalent CC classes are easier. Maybe what the schools are trying to do is force students to decide which route and take it. It is probably a drain on resources to have half your senior class leaving campus to take classes at CC, but then offering the same AP classes. And the per student funding for public school is probably the same whether a student is there for two periods or six (I'm guessing). At our private hs, students are not allowed to take the equivalent CC class if an AP is offered. That eliminates having to hire a masters degree level teacher to come in and teach six students, while sixteen more leave campus to take the same class up the street.</p>
<p>Our school system keeps trying to go to a system of the more capable students graduating in three years and the students that keep failing classes and not passing the state required graduation tests will have time to get more "help". Fortunately, knowledgable board members have not let this get beyond the discussion stage.</p>
<p>My daughter started high school with 4 credits (the most you could earn pre- high school at the time - 2 foreign lanuage, 2 math). There were 10 students with the same credentials and about 20 more with 2 or 3 units. This was a magnet program for the academically advanced with an entering class of 90. When the administration crammed block scheduling down our throats and we pointed out that by doing so the magnet students would graduate with 32-36 credits, we were told more than once by administrators that our students could go to the local college or just graduate early. When schedules didn't work out, we were told the same thing (the state pays for the college courses).</p>
<p>This was a high school program geared for these kids and had a fair number of AP classes. The teachers and counselors wanted the kids to stay at the high school, but we were definitely getting the message from the administration to get our kids out of the school and let them deal with the at-risk kids. </p>
<p>I'm glad she graduated last year and we don't have the headache anymore. It's sad that if the students are advanced, the public school administration doesn't want to provide the appropriate education.</p>
<p>"It's sad that if the students are advanced, the public school administration doesn't want to provide the appropriate education."</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I have found this to be true in my district, as well. I spent years very actively trying to get the needs of the higher-achieving students met. I finally gave up. I substitute teach in my district now, and the difference between the programming there & the programming in the two different schools my kids now attend (one private, one district-of-choice) is huge. You can dress up a class & call it anything you want, but in the end ... if it's not that rigorous, the kids lose.</p>
<p>I am saddened when I think of the brain-power we are losing in this country when we fail our best & brightest. I am not advocating catering to them at the expense of other students, but I do think they deserve equal consideration as schools allocate resources.</p>
<p>Most Kids in NYS have at least 24-26 credits at graduation, that usually includes at least one in 8th grade for Foreign Language or early start of sequence. That's quite a bit more than course work and learning than the 18 credits that is being proposed. I think potentaily it may widen what is already a gap that most feel exists between HS's in the North/Northeast and the Southern schools in terms of college prep. In NY most students even if they don't do AP take a NYS Regents program that has a high degree of rigor and is a challenge in itself. Students must sit each year for finals that are developed by the board of regents and complete three year competency tests in their main sequences. About 60% complete the Regents with distinction degree requirements which is the highest level achievable by completing all the Regents requirements, plus passing tests in Science, and Math sequence that are constructed to ensure that a distinction criteria is acheived. Honors and AP students fail the distinction tests they can be that difficult. What was interesting to us is that in my D's quest for a Florida School she receives zero weight or credit for achieving that high level of distinction. A bit off topic but a good opportunity to vent.</p>
<p>In our southern high school, you must have 28 credits (including 4 years of math) to graduate and nothing you took in middle school count towards the credits. So even if you took Alg. and Geom. in middle school, you don't get a high sch. credit for that. It just allows you to start in Alg II/ Trig. as a freshman and then you must go three levels beyond that to get your 4 math credits for h.s.</p>
<p>Here you don't need four years of math but most kids do so colleges won't think that they were slacking or something. Science is only needed for 3 years as well. I seriously think they demand more electives then academic classes. Anyway I only took electives because I had to, If I didn't need Performing Arts & physical ed credits I would of taken a more academic classes but they don't want that I guess.</p>
<p>Alot of kids in florida worry about passing the F-cat to graduate but in new york they have to not only get 30+ credits but also has regents ever year! So everyone else has nothing to complain about besides a heavy work load.</p>
<p>bbecker...we're in NC. Also our school sysytem dropped the 1 fine arts credit they used to require and cut the PE requirement from 2 credits to 1 in order for students to have more room in their schedule for other courses.</p>
<p>Back in 1976, I graduated 1 year early. I hated h.s. and threatened to drop out if they wouldn't go along with me. I went straight into an engineering program at a university as far away from home as possible...big mistake!</p>
<p>While there needs to be an option for kids who have made it through every challenging class their school offers, kids really need that senior year at home. I have allowed my girls to dual enroll at our local university and take courses during the summer to accomodate their interest in classes not offered at their h.s. Thankfully, they have been very happy at their h.s. and the subject of early graduation never came up. </p>
<p>I think Florida's plan to encourage students to graduate in 3 years is not good for the students, the universities or even the districts trying to deal with overcrowding.</p>
<p>We are having the same push in our school district. First College vs AP and honors courses. Very poor school district and the vast majority do not attend four year schools. The principal actually stated, during the first parents meeting.....take the CC course....get a C and it's counts as a B on his/her GPA. As if that's a deciding factor? So few students now take the AP courses, afraid they'll be phased out before our youngest graduates. It's a shame with the No Child Left Behind, there was also an initiative to help those who have exceled and want to continue to prepare for top universities.</p>
<p>In Wisconsin, every student must have 4 units of English, 3 social studies, 2 math, 2 science, 1.5 PE and .5 health to graduate. Each school district can add additional requirements and most do. I don't know of any WI school that has less than 22 credits to graduate. However, WI also has another mandated program. If a student exhausts all the offerings in their district in a particular subject, then during junior and/or senior year the student can take classes in that subject at either a state university or technical school and the cost is paid by the district. </p>
<p>So my son's friend who finished Calc BC and computer programming was able to take classes in both of these areas his senior year at UW-Madison, paid for by the district. He finished high school half way done with a math major. Another kid spend most of his senior year taking classes at the local technical school in auto mechanics and was almost done with the program by the time he graduated.</p>
<p>There are some problems with the program. School boards hate it because they don't want to spend the money so it has actually been an incentive to some districts to offer more high level classes at their high schools. The other problem is that in large districts, if the class is offered at another school but not at the one you attend you have to travel to that high school to take the class if you want it. If the class is offered but there is no room, you are out of luck. And it also is not easy for students who don't live near a university or technical school. Transportation can be an issue for these kids. Also, scheduling classes between the high school and college can be difficult. </p>
<p>So it is not the perfect system, but it does allow students to take classes at a higher level while still holding school districts accountable for providing education to all students until the reach 18 or graduate.</p>
<p>Our system offers a program called the College Experience. Juniors and Seniors can take one class short of a full load at the high school and take a class at the community college instead. They do not have to have exhausted their h.s. curriculum to do this. It's just a way of introducing them to college type courses, getting the credits and of course they all love leaving sch. early. S has a friend taking auto mechanics. I have known others to take psyc. history, criminal justice and sign language courses. The school district pays for it. S2 hopes to do a couple of courses that way this year if it works out well with football practice.</p>
<p>I think it might be a good solution for kids who are really bored in high school. If they need more challenge/independence, it is better to let them go to community college, rather than bore them to death til they drop out. </p>
<p>If a high school offers challenging courses and had good teachers, its students would never take advantage of this option -- pay for community college courses rather than have senior year with your friends at high school for free(?!?)</p>
<p>Wisconsin schools, well at least Kenosha Unified makes students pay a "registertation fee" but they will pay for you to take classes a university of tech. College lol amazing. </p>
<p>And its always amazing how there are no community colleges in wisconsin just tech. colleges and you can't later transfer credits to a university. But the great thing is that you can take classes in near by IL with an "agreement" by taking a class at the community college in IL that they dont ofter at your local TC.</p>