From the State Board of Education

Historic in nature, the State Board of Education’s recommendations to strengthen Michigan’s high school curriculum are absolutely necessary to ensure the future of Michigan’s children. With an evolving economy and global pressures about what education and skills students will need for the jobs of today and tomorrow, we moved to accept the recommendations proposed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Flanagan.

These recommendations, now adopted by the State Board of Education, set high expectations for all Michigan students. This action really goes a long way to right the wrong all these years of requiring only civics for graduation. We cannot keep doing the same things we have been doing. It’s time for a change. We must prepare our students for today’s economic climate.

Four years of math and English language arts and three years of science as well as three credits of social studies, two credits of world languages, and one credit each of health/physical education and visual and performing arts are among the new requirements of the Michigan Merit Core Curriculum (see page 3). Michigan students will now be the first in the nation to experience online learning as a requirement for graduation. Current requirements are woefully lacking, with only one semester of civics mandated for high school graduation under state law.

It is the role of the State Board of Education to lead with regard to general planning and coordination of public education. While the new Michigan Merit Core Curriculum instills rigor and relevance into the high school graduation requirements, it does so by also providing some flexibility for local districts. Flexibility is evident in several areas: the requirements for electives, the definition of a credit, the option to meet credit requirements through alternative methods such as an integrated math/science curriculum or humanities curriculum, the inclusion of Career and Technical Education, and/or work experience. The State Board of Education is looking forward to hearing about the creative approaches our excellent high schools will find to meet the credit requirements instead of measuring student progress by “seat time.”

For school districts that are not quite prepared to offer all of the requirements immediately, there is a district phase-in process by which the district can submit a plan to the Superintendent to phase in the requirements over a slightly longer time. For students that struggle to master the more rigorous credit requirements, there is a provision for requesting alternate credit to complete graduation requirements in the junior year. With the proper student supports and staff professional development, we are confident that all students will succeed in preparing for the 21st Century workplace.

For an update on high school graduation requirement legislation, visit: www.michigan.gov/highschool.