In the Grease song “Beauty School Drop-Out,” an angel convinces Frenchy to go back to high school in order to save her career and prevent her from working in a malt shop. Fifty years later, in a world where high school diplomas have lost considerable value, a diploma alone provides only limited opportunities, of which being a waitress at the corner store would not be too shabby.
A single reason cannot explain the trend, but a significant factor is that employers and colleges simply find that graduates have not learned what it takes to be successful beyond grade 12. While the diploma formerly proved competence, now it “often serves as little more than a certificate of attendance,” said a report by the American Diploma Project.
The U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige supported the ADP’s report, saying it "underscores the need for high school reform.”
Students also agree; about 40 percent of high school graduates feel that they were not adequately prepared for a job or college, according to a 2005 poll conducted by Achieve, Inc., an independent, bipartisan organization.
Although the ADP project was only recently founded in 2001, the falling value of the diploma is certainly not a new concern. In the last 25 years, 22 states, including Tennessee, have attempted to solve the problem by requiring students to pass exit exams before graduation. However, despite these exams, diploma value has continued to slide. Unlike the more meaningful curriculum-based exams of European and Asian countries, such as France’s Baccalaureate, American state exams are minimum competency exams which only test low level skills taught in primary and early secondary school.
With the intent of replacing the MCEs with more indicative, grade appropriate exams, the ADP is in the process of formulating higher standards, particularly in English and math, which students must achieve in order to graduate. As the new benchmarks are developed, the ADP analyzes current MCEs to determine where they fall short.
Opposition to the more rigorous testing claims that it will lower graduation rates and, in particular, hurt students in difficult situations who may not have the same educational opportunities.
“For a group to come out and say that a high school diploma has lost its meaning strikes me as a difficult position to maintain, given how hard many students work to obtain one,” said David Bloome, former president of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Granted these new standards demand more effort of both students and teachers. However, according to the 2005 Achieve poll, 80 percent of high school graduates said they wished they had studied harder, suggesting most would appreciate the increased challenge. Many teachers would also welcome the change, since in a 1995 survey by Peter Hart and Associates, 30 percent felt pressured to give higher grades than students deserved and another 30 percent felt pressured to reduce the difficulty and amount of work assigned.
As to Bloome’s argument that it will hurt students who work hard, schools currently give students multiple chances and extra help to pass the MCEs. Most motivated students would still be able to pass more rigorous exams, given the same chances and support. Finally, in the real world of college and career, employers and professors rarely judge based on hard work alone; competency and achievement are also vital for success.
While the ADP’s more rigorous exams may bar the way for a very small minority, they will restore the prestige of the high school diploma, providing the vast majority of successful students with a document of merit rather than an attendance report.
Katie Vick is a junior in the College of Arts & Science.
