Change In Federal Graduation Guidelines Could Affect Local Districts
Posted
Michael Anderson-manderson@timesuniononline.com
Changes to federal guidelines could change graduation rates throughout the state.
Shelly Wilfong, chief analytics officer for Warsaw Community Schools, discussed the potential changes at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
The federal government wants to define a high school graduate as the degree that most students get, Wilfong said.
Indiana offers four types of degrees: a Core 40 degree, a general degree and two types of honors degrees.
The new guidelines would exclude the general degree from a school’s graduation rates. However, a student would be a considered a high school graduate when applying for jobs.
The biggest reason a student is unable to obtain the Core 40 degree is inability to pass Algebra 2, Wilfong said.
Receiving a general diploma decreases the chance of someone getting into a four-year college, she said.
Wilfong estimated that if the changes go through,?Warsaw Community High School’s graduation rate would drop about 5 percent.
According to graduation numbers in 2015-16, 26 students received the general diploma from WCHS.
Wilfong said the 5 percent is less than other area schools, and compares well to other schools in the state.
The state is still negotiating with the federal government on the changes.
Dr. David Hoffert, WCS superintendent, said it is unknown when the changes will take place, or if at all, but said he thought it was important to discuss the impact due to media coverage of the changes.
In other business, two grants will be voted on at the next board meeting.
One is a $50,000 grant to open a dual language immersion program at Leesburg Elementary, and one is a donation for the Edgewood Middle School choir.
Also on Monday, a public hearing will be held to discuss a proposed $10 million project including a student activity center.
