Questions and Answers
Q.
Why do high schools need to implement the Smart Core rigorous curriculum?
A.
Here are some of the facts:
One fifth of Arkansas ninth graders do not obtain a high school diploma. The drop-out rate is even higher for African Americans and Hispanics.
Too many students leave our high schools unprepared for the challenges of college and work. National Governors Association (NGA) statistics say one in three high school graduates who go to college nationally need immediate remedial education; in Arkansas 52% of those attending college need remedial courses.
Only 30% of high school students who took the ACT demonstrated readiness for college math and only 25% demonstrated readiness for college biology.
76% of Arkansas employers say less than half of the recent high school graduates who apply for jobs in their company have quality writing skills or the ability to do basic math.
More than 60% of employers are not satisfied with the ability of recent high school graduates to read and understand written instructions and materials.
Q.
What can educators do to ensure the success of their students in higher education and the workplace?
A.
Encourage all your students to take higher math classes. No matter what path they choose after they finish high school, students who have taken more demanding math courses are better prepared for work or college. A new study by ACT compare the skills needed for success in freshman courses in college and compared them to skills needed for training program in occupations that offer a salary sufficient to support a family of four. The jobs and the freshman courses require a comparable level of math skills in algebra, geometry, data analysis and statistics.
Landmark federal studies found that the highest level of math taken in high school has the most powerful relationship to earning a bachelor’s degree, regardless of student ethnicity, family income or parents’ education levels.
Students who complete Algebra II in high school MORE THAN DOUBLE THEIR CHANCES of earning a four-year college degree. Those who do not take challenging math courses are much more likely to end up in remedial courses and are more likely to drop out.
Q.
Can you define Smart Core in just a few sentences?
A.
Smart Core includes four units of math and English and three units of science and social studies:
4 Math - Algebra I or Algebra A & B, Geometry or Investigating Geometry, Algebra II, Transitions to College Math, Pre-Cal, Trig, Statistics, Computer Math or Algebra III.
4 English - 9th through 12th grade English.
3 Natural Science - Your choice: Physical Science, Bio or Applied Bio/Chemistry, Chemistry, Physics, Principles of Tech I & II or PIC Physics.
3 Social Studies - Civics or American Government, World History, American History.
Smart Core is a mandatory curriculum for all high school students, beginning with the class of 2010. All students will have to participate in the program in order to graduate from high school, unless their parents sign a waiver indicating permission to participate in the alternate curriculum.
Q.
As a teacher, what can I do to help Smart Core work in my school?
A.
Believe in it yourself. Encourage ALL STUDENTS to take Smart Core courses.
Encourage parents not to sign waivers exempting their students from Smart Core. Parents who sign Smart Core waivers are limiting their child’s future opportunities and their ability to support a family.
Q.
Students are different and their needs after high school will be different. Why does Smart Core require college prep classes for everyone?
A.
The high school community must embrace higher expectations for all students, regardless of a student’s prior academic performance. To succeed in today’s economy, Americans must know and be able to do more than ever before. All students need to graduate high school with the same level of skills.
The same skills in English (four years) and math (through Algebra II) are needed for college and for the 21st century work environment. For example, a college freshman and a pipe fitter need algebra, geometry, trigonometry and physics mastery. A sales professional and a college freshman need advanced math as well as written and oral persuasive communications skills.
Employers who hire high school graduates want to hire people who can read, write and communicate clearly; analyze
information; solve complex problems, and conduct research and make comparisons. College professors want people with the same skills.
Q.
Won’t we be doing a disservice to students who aren’t able to perform to this level?
A.
When more rigorous curriculums are implemented, ALL STUDENTS LEARN MORE. NGA data shows that students who took Algebra rather than general math had much higher test score gains between 8th and 10th grades – even those with the very lowest initial 8th grade math scores.
ACT scores in Arkansas rose for the first time in 2006 after years of remaining constant, but there is a gap between all students and African-American and Hispanics that is growing. The academic achievement gap between low income and minority students and others is LESS when a rigorous high school curriculum is followed by all students, according to NGA data.
When they take harder courses, ALL STUDENTS EARN BETTER GRADES. Tracking more than 3,000 students from middle school to high school, the Southern Regional Education
Board found that low achieving 8th graders were less likely to earn Ds and Fs when placed in college prep courses in high school.
Q.
Won’t more students drop out?
A.
A rigorous high school curriculum has not caused the dropout rate to rise. NGA data indicates that students are more engaged and achieve higher test scores when their curriculum is rigorous.
NGA statistics indicate a clear majority of high school graduates say they would work harder and take more rigorous courses in high school if they could do it over. Of those who did not go to college, 72% say they wish they had taken more rigorous courses.
Q.
How will Smart Core be evaluated?
A.
We have to set goals, measure progress and hold our schools accountable to make needed changes in our high schools. We will know we have succeeded when: