Schools oppose CCHE strategy

New standards 'nearly impossible'

Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News

Saturday, January 7, 2006

A group of rural Colorado school districts is pushing legislation that would eliminate new minimum course requirements for students to be admitted to an in-state college or university.

They say the tougher standards are a burden wrongly imposed by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.

The requirements - which first affect the graduating class of 2008, then get tougher in 2010 - will be "nearly impossible" for many smaller and poorer districts to meet, said Paula Stephenson, executive director of the Colorado Rural Schools Caucus and former Steamboat Springs school board president.

There's also a philosophical reason behind the bill, which is expected to be introduced by state Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, during the legislative session that begins next week.

"We don't start from the position that every kid is going to go to college," Stephenson said.

"There are just some kids who do not get math. Same for foreign language," she said. "Why does a music major, or a sociology major, need to have higher math? And how much benefit are you really getting from two years of foreign language?"

State higher education officials say that thinking is flawed.

"There are those who will say, 'Not all students need to go to college,' " said Gully Stanford, precollegiate program director for the Colorado Department of Higher Education. "I would say, all students need to be adequately prepared to make that choice. Otherwise, you're shortchanging them."

Stanford also points to a recent report that showed about 30 percent of high school graduates in 2004 who enrolled in college that fall needed remedial classes. A major reason those students weren't prepared was that they didn't get the necessary classes in high school, Stanford said.

"We believe the case is convincing," he added.

CCHE approved the admission standards, which apply to all four-year public colleges in Colorado, in November 2003.

For students applying for fall 2008 admission, the standards require at least four years of English, three years of math (algebra I or higher), three years of natural science, three years of social science, and two "academic" electives such as music, art or journalism.

Starting with the 2010 graduating class - this year's eighth-graders - students will be required to take another year of math and two years of foreign language.

Jane Urschel, lobbyist for the Colorado Association of School Boards, said many districts were unaware of the initiative before CCHE approved it. That created a lot of bad feelings, she said.

"We all want kids to be ready for college," Urschel said. "I think what you're seeing in this bill is a lot of anger."

Districts also are concerned about being able to recruit and pay additional teachers.

"There aren't the foreign language and math teachers to go around all the districts in the state," Stephenson said. "Especially when we might only have one or two students in the classes."

To pay for the new courses, districts are having to make cuts in other areas, such as fine arts and physical education, and limit the number of vocational courses they can offer, Stephenson added.

Many districts also believe the requirements violate the concept of local control, in which local schools board decide what's taught, Urschel said.

But Stanford noted the standards are not graduation requirements and therefore don't usurp local control.

"What we are doing is sharing with school districts, 'If you want your students to succeed in post-secondary study, these are the courses they need,' " he said.

The Colorado Association of School Boards has not taken a position on the legislation, Urschel said. And she thinks many of the districts involved are hopeful CCHE will agree to postpone the 2010 requirements - a move that could avoid a legislative tussle altogether.

"If CCHE would help . . . this bill might go away," Urschel said.

As of Friday, however, Stanford said he hadn't yet heard a convincing argument for pushing back the 2010 deadline.

Districts have had since 2003 to prepare for the phased-in standards, Stanford pointed out. And while he admits CCHE could have done a better job of communicating with districts before the measure passed, he believes the commission has presented viable options, such as allowing students to take online courses or attend classes at community colleges.

"If the will is there, the resources will be found," he said.

Tougher standards

• Some rural school districts are balking at minimum course requirements the Commission on Higher Education set for students to be admitted to a state four-year public college or university. The standards begin with the graduating class of 2008 - current high school sophomores - and increase two years later:

2008

Subject   Units*

• English   4

• Math (Algebra I and higher)   3

• Science (Two units must be lab-based)   3

• Social Science (At least one unit of U.S. or world history)   3

• Electives   2

2010

Subject   Units*

• English   4

• Math (Algebra I and higher)   4

• Science (Two units must be lab-based)   3

• Social Science (At least one unit of U.S. or world history)   3

• Foreign Language   2

• Electives   2* One Unit Typically Equals One Year Source: Cche

Current models

The nonprofit Fund for Colorado's Future surveyed all Colorado school districts to determine how many have requirements that meet the CCHE's admission standards. Here are some of their preliminary findings:

Requirement   Percent

• 4 units (or more) English   93

• 3 units math   66

• 3 units social studies   58

• 3 units science   62

• 2 units foreign language   5Source: The Fund For Colorado'S Future

burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5343