What is a diploma worth these days?

ChalkBeat recently reported that the graduation rate for students of New York City has reached 70% for the first time. As these kinds of increases have been political goals for mayor and governors alike, it is obviously treated as an achievement of greatness. On the other hand, what exactly does a diploma represent these days? I have worked in five different public schools over my eight years of being in classrooms and seen some very shady things happen in order to make sure students are graduating. I have also seen such pressure on teachers to make sure their students earn enough credits otherwise their evaluation scores would be reduced significantly. So, it begs the question, What is a diploma really worth these days?

Having a high school diploma does not guarantee success in life. If you look at this chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, individual will overtake the average salary once they complete a bachelor's degree in college. So, one of the most important things to do is make sure our high school graduates are equipped to stay in the college classroom until college graduation.

Unfortunately, this is not currently taking place. If you believe the statistics mentioned in this NY Times article, we have serious trouble when it comes to college completion and student retention.

The most recent evaluation of 12th graders on a national test of reading and math found that fewer than 40 percent were ready for college level work. College remediation and dropout rates remain stubbornly high, particularly at two-year institutions, where fewer than a third who enroll complete a degree even within three years.

We need to make sure our students are prepared not only with credits but also with the know-how to navigate college systems as well as the determination to make it through the rigorous process of learning more individually than ever before. 

Last Monday, the NY State Board of Regents looked various proposals to to allow more project-based assessments to earn a diploma instead of the Regents Exam itself. This might be a good way to give students more individual accountability with more rigor. They also looked a proposal to allow students to appeal their Regents score if it is between 60-64% (the current appeal level is 62-64%). 

I'm not sure what the right solution is on the state level but I do know that at my school we focus a lot on preparing students to be accountable for themselves, to self-advocate, and be ready for unexpected challenges that lie ahead. We have a college retention rate somewhere in the 80%s after 3 semesters in college - something most schools cannot boast. I hope I learn what is really going on at a school-wide level sometime so I can share that information with others. It's only with methods like this can be make sure diplomas mean something and our students are really prepared for college.