Georgia is making changes in its requirements for graduation that will go into effect beginning with next year’s ninth grade class (the class of 2012). What follows is a table I adapted from my daughter’s school counselor’s publication for high school transition:
| Current Rule | Proposed Rule |
| 4 tiers with different requirements: College Preparatory (CP), College Preparatory with Distinction (CP+), Technology/Career (TC), and Technology/Career with Distinction (TC+) | One common set of requirements for all students |
| 22 total Carnegie units required for CP and TC, 24 units required for CP+ and TC+ | 23 total Carnegie units required for all students |
| 4 units of English required for all students | 4 units of English required for all students |
| 4 units of math required for CP and CP+, 3 units of math required for TC and TC+ | 4 units of math required for all students |
| 3 units of science required for all students | 4 units of science required for all students (the 4th unit of science can be used to meet both science and elective requirements) |
| 3 units of social studies required for all students | 3 units of social studies required for all students, all courses are specifically identified |
| 1 unit of health/PE required for all students | 1 unit of health/PE required for all students; 3 units of JROTC may be used to meet the requirements |
| 1 unit of computer techology and/or fine arts and/or technology career preparatory and/or foreign language required for all students; 2 units of foreign language required for CP and CP+ students | 3 units required from CTAE and/or foreign language and/or fina arts; foreign language is not required for any student to graduate, whether CP or not |
| 5-6 additional elective units depending on tier (CP, CP+, TC, TC+) | 4 additional units of elective units for all students |
Basically, Georgia is doing away with Technology/Career diplomas and building one set of requirements for all Georgia graduates. I would like to know more before I criticize the new set of requirements, but I have to say that I’m not sure this is a good idea. Tech/Career prep programs often provided a good alternative for students who didn’t plan to go to college. I have the following questions:
- Do the new requirements mean that Georgia is doing away with TC-level academic classes? Back when I was teaching in public school, there were “Vocational track” classes for students who didn’t intend to go to college. Therefore, will students who don’t intend to go to college still take what are essentially CP-level academic classes?
- Students entering college will still have to have two units of foreign language in order to get into college. I understand that these units will have to come from the electives requirements. Will this be a problem for students who have to take foreign language? What do our colleges think of changing this requirement so that foreign language is no longer required for graduation?
- What do my peers currently teaching in Georgia public schools (or elsewhere for that matter) think of these changes?
You can check out this section of the Georgia DOE website for more information.