For many years I have worked with young people at one of the most important transitions in their lives. After twelve years of compulsory schooling, they are approaching the edge of the nest and many feel unprepared, realizing that they will lose the comfort of seeing friends every day, the support of trusted adults outside the family, and the predictability of school each day. schedule. Some people can't wait to leave, some are homesick, and some are paralyzed and can't make plans for what they want to do next.
Of all the demands placed on seniors, meeting graduation requirements is a significant source of stress. Every year, some students are told that they cannot live up to these expectations, never earn a high school diploma, and thus never be able to stand on stage with their peers.
There is anger, disappointment, and tears about not receiving this degree, but what does it mean to receive a diploma, and what does the diploma itself mean? Having taught and worked with high school seniors for more than half of my career, these questions are ever-present, rarely asked, and often left unanswered for me.
Today, as our children graduate from high school and enter the so-called “real world,” they face a world that is changing at an unprecedented rate. The competitive, uniform industrial model of American education has existed for over 100 years, but it is increasingly becoming outdated and sometimes even meaningless. How should we spend our time preparing students when we have no idea what the world they enter will be like in just a few years? If a diploma means we are prepared, shouldn't we ask students what they want to prepare for?
What happens if a student does not receive a diploma?
Culturally, graduation is a right of passage and a source of tremendous pride. For many families, a high school diploma is a major accomplishment that not everyone can achieve. It is a moment to celebrate young people's transition into adulthood and all the care and support given to them during their 12 years of formal education.
When we asked students what a diploma means to them and whether it is important, the most common thing they said was that it creates a certificate. They look forward to the moment when they are recognized for their hard work and all they have overcome, including a failing school system. One young woman I spoke with said she felt she was one of the “lucky ones” because many young people in her community do not live to see graduation.
In fact, I have been to more than one graduation ceremony where a family member walked on behalf of a loved one who passed away before graduation. Even if they are not physically present, we create moments for them because of how important this recognition is.
In today's educational environment, access to most postsecondary education options, including trade schools and community colleges, requires either receiving a traditional high school diploma or passing the General Education Development exam. Therefore, the decision to deny a diploma has a tremendous impact on a student's current and future career opportunities.
A recent graduate with whom I am close told me that students who do not graduate not only lose opportunities but also face social stigma. [a diploma].” I have heard that many students who are already successfully applying a wide range of knowledge and skills to class assignments and extracurricular activities have failed because they cannot demonstrate mastery of academic content through specific conditions.
I worry not only about their job prospects but also about the impact it will have on them if they are told they have failed. How does it shape their self-image and how their loved ones view them? Would that diminish or overshadow their many other accomplishments?
How has the value of a diploma changed?
In theory, a diploma indicates that you have learned a wide range of information and skills across a variety of fields and are in some way prepared for life and employment after compulsory education. Graduation requirements, including number of credits, types of assessments, and paths to graduation, vary widely across the 50 U.S. states.
Louisiana, where I teach, is one of eight states in the country that requires a passing score on a standardized test to receive a diploma. Standardized tests have long been opposed by educators, parents, and students because of their racist origins. Passing these tests is especially difficult for students who are recent immigrants and are still learning English. Currently, only 41% of these students graduate, largely because they do not pass standardized tests.
This high level of variability and lack of agreement about what students must learn to be considered educated is so complex and brutal that many students are taking matters into their own hands to determine their own futures. One of my seniors, a wonderful, ambitious young woman who provides hair, aesthetics and social media management services, has already been making significantly more money than me for several months. Another recent graduate, a talented and multi-disciplinary artist, has recently been featured in one of the city's most prestigious art spaces and is currently publishing his first magazine.
Other students I've taught who have been academically successful throughout their lives and graduated with honors are struggling to find work, and many are finding low-paying jobs while they figure out their next career path. And yet, many more of my students have no idea what they want to do or what path is best for them financially. Just as teachers navigate all the changes happening in education, so do students. Of course, it is difficult to give advice because the value of the diploma and the future of society move on before I can adapt.
Why our approach must change
I practice approaches to multiple-choice questions and break down unnecessarily confusing writing prompts at the expense of project-based assignments that relate to students' daily lives or in-depth discussions of the text that provide windows and mirrors to validate and challenge their experiences. I'm tired of doing it. If we want a different world, we have to educate differently. If we want our students to be prepared to build that world, we need to reevaluate what we ask of them while they are in school.
If we embrace a variety of career possibilities and accept that we don't know what the future holds, how can our diplomas reflect this? What skills do we really want all young people to go into the world with, and how can educators help build this world? These are questions that are at the forefront of my mind, and ones that I wish more of us educators could spend time discussing and planning for.
Unfortunately, as long as there are stringent requirements for graduation, a teacher's most valuable resources – time and energy – will be primarily devoted to these requirements instead of preparing students to the best of their ability for life after graduation. Until we change what a high school diploma requires, we cannot meaningfully change how students value what a high school education provides.