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State moves to increase graduation requirements

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Arizona high school students don't graduate with the skills they'll need to thrive in college or in the job market — our kids can't compete. This nugget has been repeated so often it's become noise wallpaper, always in the background of any discussion about the generally sorry state of education in Arizona.

The state Board of Education took a stride toward turning that around last week when its members, through an informal vote, decided to require students entering ninth grade next year to pass three math courses and three social studies courses — one more in each subject than is now required.

And freshmen in 2010 will need a fourth year of math and a third year of science to graduate.

The move would double the math requirement for some local high schools, such as those in the Sunnyside and Sahuarita districts. The area's largest district, Tucson Unified, requires three years of math. Flowing Wells Unified requires three years of math, or four if the student wants a "gold" diploma, signifying a more rigorous high school career.

The state board must formally adopt the new requirements if they're to go into effect.

The board is sending an important message: The status quo isn't good enough.

Requiring more of high schools and their students will be difficult. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne says Arizona needs 70 new math teachers every year to keep pace with those retiring, and that two-thirds of Arizona high schools already require three years of math. He says it would take 600 more teachers to add a fourth year of math at every high school. He doubts that would happen quickly, and he's likely right.

It's appalling that Arizona requires only two years of high school math to graduate. Students must pass the AIMS test to earn a diploma, but that's supposed to be a test of basic competency, and students still struggle with it. Arizona students need more. In addition to raising math, science, social studies and economics requirements, the Board of Education should consider increasing the total number of credits needed to graduate.

Horne opposes the push for more math and advocates an "opt-out" provision. He is right when he says that not every student wants to go into a high-tech field. "There are some kids who are literary or have other talents," he said, according to a story by Capitol Media Services.

But life isn't letters versus numbers. Having a talent for writing doesn't exempt a person from needing to understand how mortgage interest rates work — everyone needs math literacy. The state board should allow schools to broaden the category to include some math-heavy vocational classes and consumer-driven math classes.

It's clear that the existing high school requirements don't cut it. Of the 5,580 new freshmen who entered Pima Community College last fall, 79 percent needed remedial classes in math, 48 percent needed them in writing, 32 percent in reading.

Gov. Janet Napolitano and a lobbyist for Intel Corp. told the board that Arizona students need more math to compete in the workforce. And undertrained workers make it more difficult to recruit companies to Arizona.

Viewing high school simply as a factory to produce better workers ignores the true value of learning. High schools shouldn't be churning out automatons for business interests. For all levels of our government to work, citizens must be educated and involved. We need people who can think for themselves.

And asking students to do more in high school will help that happen.