Florida has had legislation for a few years requiring high schools to evaluate before the end of grade12 the college readiness of students who've expressed an interest in postsecondary education and who score at certain levels on the reading portion of the grade 10 FCAT or (in the most recent iteration) the math end-of-course exams and math portion of the FCAT. High schools were required to advise these students of identified deficiencies and make available to 12th graders postsecondary remedial instruction. Now in the 2011 legislature, the state has upped the ante--this evaluation of 12th graders' college readiness is for all students, not just those who have expressed an interest in postsecondary education, and 12th graders identified as not being college-ready must complete appropriate postsecondary preparatory instruction before they graduate from high school (see sec. 26, starting on page 56 of H.B. 1255).
While some other states provide these types of courses designed to help students meet postsecondary entrance expectations, this is the first instance I've seen of a state making this type of remedial instruction essentially a high school graduation requirement for students not ready for college. Will postsecondary remediation rates drop substantially after this law goes into effect? Will there be pushback from students (and/or parents) who don't feel they (or their kids) should be required to complete a postsecondary preparation course if their immediate plans don't include college? As with so many other policy developments identified on this blog--it's anyone's guess. But (again as with so many other policies highlighted here), it will be interesting to see how this one plays out--will other states follow Florida's lead, or will Florida amend this law if there's too much negative response from stakeholders or if postsecondary remediation rates do not drop appreciably?
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