Dive Brief:
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New legislation signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reduces the number of exams required for high school graduation from five to three.
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The bill, which passed both houses of the state's legislature with an strong majority, exempts thousands of Texas teens from end-of-high-school exams, stepping away from strict accountability measures that the state previously put into place.
- Under the new plan, students must still have a passing average in all of their courses and will need to get a graduation waiver if they fail to pass one or two of the required exams.
Dive Insight:
Opponents of this new bill fear that students' performance and drive to take rigorous classes will go downhill. Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business and a former House member, told the Dallas News that the bill will “effectively eliminate any substantive requirement for juniors and seniors to prove they are college- or career-ready when they graduate.”
So why was the bill passed? Proponents say it's to help the 28,000 seniors from the Class of 2015 who are in danger of not graduating from high school because they have failed to pass one or more of the necessary graduation exams. While graduation is indeed important, does this bill help the 10% of Texas teens that are in the red, or a state fearing the repercussions for a low graduation rate?
Ultimately, lowering expectations does not help students. What will the high school diploma be worth when those 28,000 teens are unable to complete college work or other career options outside of schooling?