Other Newspapers' Opinions: Diplomas that mean something
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 10:19 AM PDT
Rep. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, wants diplomas to mean something. She doesn’t want Oregon students to receive dumbed-down diplomas, and she certainly doesn’t want districts to take the easy way out by lowering standards rather than meeting students’ needs. Gelser, an advocate for children with disabilities, deserves credit for toughening state laws regarding modified diplomas.
Gelser spearheaded a 2007 law that makes it harder for a district to grant a modified diploma instead of a real one.
Starting with this fall’s freshmen class, Oregon districts can issue modified diplomas only to students with persistent and documented learning disabilities, and only with parental consent given at least two years before graduation. These students will need to earn 24 credits, including three in English and two each in math and science.
Students with profound disabilities can still receive an alternative certificate upon completing high school. But it will be harder now to steer students with mild learning disabilities (or students who haven’t been properly challenged or supported) toward a Diploma Lite.
Why would high schools be tempted by the modified diploma? Two possible reasons stand out. First, it’s easier and cheaper to lower the bar for students with learning challenges than it is to increase the amount of individual attention.
Second, under the reporting requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act, a modified diploma is preferable to no diploma.
Last spring, an average of 12 percent of the graduates from Marshall, Roosevelt, Madison and Jefferson high schools in Portland Public Schools received modified diplomas, according to the Oregon Department of Education. That’s more than quadruple the state average of 2.6 percent.
Portland spokeswoman Sarah Carlin Ames said, district-wide, 4.9 percent of graduating students receive modified diplomas, which is significantly higher than the state average.
She said this may reflect the district’s higher number of students with severe disabilities. She said the district is looking at whether the total number of modified diplomas is too high — and how to make high schools more equitable. The district already has concluded, she added, students of color, students learning English and students from low-income families are disproportionately identified as needing special education.
“We over-identify students of color,” she said. “It’s an issue we need to look at.”
Gelser’s law helps brings these complicated issues into the light. We commend her for doing so.
— The Oregonian
