This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
On Wednesday, February 28, the St. Vrain Valley School Board discussed and unanimously approved the proposed changes to the requirements for graduation as presented to the board.
The new changes will require students to successfully complete 24.5 credit hours of rigorous course study (already a requirement in the district), an Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) and the Personal Financial Literacy Class.
These new requirements will eliminate the need for students to take the SAT as a requirement for graduation. Students will still be given the PSAT (9th grade) and the SAT (11th grade) tests.
The district hopes that by eliminating the SAT requirement they can form a more "student focused policy," says School Board Member Paula Peairs.
Currently, 37% of students in the district (around 800) do not achieve high enough scores on this exam. According to the district, this is not a true reflection of the student's ability.
Board Member Richard Martyr expressed concern by stating, "I would like to keep our eye on the ball to see if there are any unintended consequences to not having a standardized assessment that is standardized beyond our district."
According to Assistant Superintendent for Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction Tori Teague, the change in graduation requirements is something that is been in the process of changing since 2007 at both the state and district levels. The
"Revisions to this policy were made by administration to more clearly describe graduation requirements for College and Career Readiness," is stated in school board communication.
To view the graduation requirements in their entirety see below:
