Just weeks before the Idaho state board of education was to vote on a plan to toughen middle and high school requirements in the state, a task force has dropped the most controversial aspects of the proposal.
Facing considerable opposition from parents and educators, the task force removed a proposal to require middle school students to maintain a C average in all three years of middle school in order to enter 9th grade. It also dropped a plan for high school students to take “career focused” electives. Many parents expressed worries that the career-related requirement would limit students’ choices in high school. (“Idaho Studies Minimum GPA for High School Admission,” Nov. 2, 2005.)
But the task force is still recommending that high school students take four years of mathematics instead of two, and three years of science instead of two. Students graduating in 2012 would be the first required to have the additional credits.
“The revised plan will increase rigor in key subjects in our schools, ensuring every year in high school counts,” state board member Sue Thilo said in a press release. “It also addresses the significant concerns that we heard from the public.”
