Dive Brief:
- The Los Angeles Unified School District posted a 75% graduation rate at the end of the summer, the highest the district has ever seen, in part because of credit recovery options some question as being too easy for students.
- The Los Angeles Times reports that, in December, only about half of seniors were poised to graduate based on new requirements that made it harder to finish, but a range of credit recovery options gave students a chance to earn credits for classes they had previously failed while continuing their current studies.
- The district’s more rigorous standards require students to pass intermediate algebra instead of just the first-year course, along with half a dozen other requirements — and while many are celebrating the success of credit recovery, there is a healthy amount of skepticism and a desire for more data about how it actually worked.
Dive Insight:
A major element of school improvement efforts right now is developing more rigorous curricula to get students ready for college. About 60% of students who enroll in community colleges need remediation before they can enter credit-bearing courses. Many of these students are returning adults, but far more than schools would like have come directly from high school. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, even 10% of students enrolling in highly selective institutions need some type of remediation.
Just as many schools are eliminating zeros from the grading scale and encouraging students to finish missed assignments rather than take lower grades, credit recovery options create a “no-excuses” environment that largely takes away failure as an option. While it is important for schools to give students the education they need, it is also important to maintain eligibility standards. This is the balance LAUSD and other districts are trying to find.