Dorn Wants Delay in Graduation Requirements

Phyllis Fletcher
11/20/2009

Randy Dorn plans to ask the Washington State Legislature to delay high school graduation requirements in math and science. Dorn is State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He announced his request in Seattle Thursday. KUOW's Phyllis Fletcher reports.

Dorn spoke to a state convention of school board members. Their statewide association approves of the delay Dorn wants to ask for. So does the largest teachers' union in the state.

Dorn says that's because they can see the problem. Math and science proficiency is supposed to be a graduation requirement in 2013. But about 55 percent of high school students fail the state math test, and 60 percent fail the science test.

Dorn: "And for people not to recognize that's a problem, I think they're not doing justice for students."

But people who recognize that problem don't all agree that a delay will help. Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, the chair of the State Board of Education, and the League of Education Voters came out against it.

The Legislature has already delayed the requirements once. Now Dorn is asking for the math requirement to kick in in 2015 and science in 2017. Dorn says he'd like to do sample tests before then to make sure most students are on track.

New tests would be part of the new requirement. Dorn campaigned to voters on a platform that called for a new test to replace the WASL. But the delay he asked for this week was not part of his campaign.

Dorn defends his proposal by pointing out that students who don't pass the math test would have to take more math than the state requires now. So, he says, the Legislature would be raising the bar if it adopts his proposal.

If the Legislature passes Dorn's idea and the Governor signs it, this year's ninth graders are off the hook. Students in seventh grade now would be the first to have to pass the new math standard in high school. The science requirement would affect students who are now in fifth grade.

I'm Phyllis Fletcher, KUOW News.

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