Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2022 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can states remove policies barriers that are keeping educators from reinventing high schools?” Learn more.
In May 2023, the National Association of State Boards of Education will issue an edition of its flagship publication, The State Education Standard, entitled High Schools that Matter. State board of education members understand data (quantitative and observational) about high school experiences and outcomes and know that there are ways that education systems can better serve high school students and ensure for them a brighter future. They also understand that there are policy conditions that can help motivate and catalyze greater reform.
From a personal perspective, there is nothing I love more than to find a high school student inspired by and joyful about their learning experience. It’s a real treat, and in the course of enough conversations with such students, one begins to form an idea of what a really great high school looks like. One particularly powerful experience that helped shape my thinking was at the high school that both my children attended—The Graham School. The Graham School is a charter school in Columbus, Ohio. When the Dean of Students told me that, beginning in their sophomore year, students spend two days a week in internships, I was a bit hesitant. “If they’re out two days a week, when does the learning happen,” I asked naively. I learned soon enough. I was also intrigued by Graham’s course catalog. There was a notable absence of courses like “Freshman English” or “World History.” The faculty had designed courses, based on student interests, that were more focused and shorter—with catchy names and engaging descriptions, yet still intended to cover the standards.
You could tell that the team that ran The Graham School had a strong sense of what a great learning opportunity looks like for high school students. In combination with a variety of other observations that I’ve made over the years, I’ve landed on these six attributes:
- Challenging: In spite of what people might think about high school students, they really do want to be challenged and to engage in learning that is rigorous. Time and again, students will surprise us with the ability to reach high levels of achievement if we present them with the opportunity to learn, and have high expectations for them.
- Student directed: Students want to learn about things that interest them. Make no mistake, they are interested in a lot of things, and understand the importance of English, science, mathematics, social studies, art, and more. They recognize they can acquire this knowledge in a lot of different ways, and when they have a voice in how they do it, it makes for a more meaningful learning experience.
- Project based: Life is not separated into discrete subjects. In the real world, math, reading, science, and social studies don’t happen independent of each other. Everything is jumbled together. Students enjoy learning that way, too. A project-based learning approach allows students to see the connections and the relevancy.
- Community connected: Students care about where they live, and they want to make a difference. A nice complement to project-based learning is learning that is community connected—that has a positive impact on the community where students live.
- Work connected: High school students are at an age where they are intrigued by careers and the world of work. On the one hand, they’re attracted to the prospect of earning money. On the other, there is an appeal to better understand the mysteries that have eluded them about what work is all about. When students find themselves in work settings, the learning takes off, and goes in lots of different directions. It also often surprises employers at just how much students know and can do, and the value they can bring to their enterprises.
- Belongingness: Students want to belong. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. In a great high school, you routinely hear students say, “I feel like I belong here.”
Actually, there are few barriers to high schools reflecting these attributes. In fact, in many places state policy already offers a great deal of flexibility with regard to program design and delivery. That said, one concept deeply infused in the high school experience, and reinforced by public policy, is the Carnegie Unit (a seat-time requirement). Because of its long history and a perception that anything else would be less useful and reliable, there is a tremendous reluctance to move away from it. However, we are beginning to see some policy changes that dispense with the Carnegie unit and promote the kinds of flexibility that support the attributes I describe. Ohio is one state that has a number of good examples of such policies. There are three worth highlighting.
The first is the credit flexibility provision of Ohio law (Ohio Revised Code 3313.603(J)(1) & (2)). Basically, this statute says that every school district and charter school must have a policy that allows a student to earn credit based on demonstrated subject area competency. It requires that there be a plan for how the student will acquire the knowledge and skills and what method will be used to demonstrate the knowledge.
The second is the work-based learning experiences credit policy (ORC 3313.603(J)(3)). This requires every school district and charter school to allow students to demonstrate subject area competency through work-based learning experiences, internships, or cooperative education.
The third is the integrated coursework and simultaneous credit provision (ORC 3313.603(I)). This allows for the integration of subjects with each other, which allows students to take a course that integrates more than one subject and, upon completion, to receive credit for more than one course.
If more states were to adopt policies like these, it would signal to communities and school districts that high school redesign is valued, and a better high school experience is an attainable objective. It would foster innovation and creativity that go beyond the Carnegie unit. Certainly, these policies may raise issues of how to clearly define and assess the learning taking place. But there are examples for how such challenges can be addressed. Even AP Computer Science has a project-based component that is reliably and meaningfully evaluated.
With policies that offer this kind of flexibility, one would hope to see more schools that look different. Sadly, this is not the case. In many cases there is a desire and an understanding of the changes needed, but a lack of clarity about how exactly to go about it. Changing a high school experience requires gaining parental and community support, seeking employer buy-in and participation, reconfiguring teaching roles, tapping community resources, and much more. Change is hard and risky, but with the right supports for effective change management and implementation, more will make the shift. And wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing.
