A new kind of high school diploma trades chemistry for carpentry — from hechingerreport.org by Ariel Gilreath
Starting this fall, Alabama high school students can choose to take state-approved career and technical education courses in place of upper level math and science, such as Algebra 2 or chemistry.
Alabama state law previously required students to take at least four years each of English, math, science and social studies to graduate from high school. The state is now calling that track the “Option A” diploma. The new “Option B” workforce diploma allows students to replace two math and two science classes with a sequence of three CTE courses of their choosing. The CTE courses do not have to be related to math or science, but they do have to be in the same career cluster. Already, more than 70 percent of Alabama high school students take at least one CTE class, according to the state’s Office of Career and Technical Education/Workforce Development.
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In a corner of Huffman High School, the sounds of popping nail guns and whirring table saws fill the architecture and construction classroom.
Down the hall, culinary students chop and saute in the school’s commercial kitchen, and in another room, cosmetology students snip mannequin hair to prepare for the state’s natural hair stylist license.
Starting this fall, Alabama high school students can choose to take these classes — or any other state-approved career and technical education courses — in place of upper level math and science, such as Algebra 2 or chemistry.
From DSC:
This is excellent. Provide more choice. Engage all kinds of students with all kinds of interests, gifts, and abilities. Make learning fun and enjoyable and practical for students. The setup in this article mentions that “many universities, including the state’s flagship University of Alabama, require at least three math credits for admission. The workforce diploma would make it more difficult for students on that track to get into those colleges.” But perhaps college is not where these students want to go. Or perhaps the colleges and universities across our land should offer some additional pathways into them as well as new sorts of curricula and programs.