According to a news release from the Board of Education the revision allows for "flexibility in scheduling, empowering students and educators to choose high school level mathematics course work best suited for the student's educational and career goals."
We frequently receive calls on the Assignments Desk at KING-5 News from parents who are trying to help their children apply for college. They find out, sometimes too late, that the state's high school graduation requirements do not meet the minimum requirements to get in to the state's colleges and universities.
Both the University of Washington and Washington State University require incoming freshmen to have taken algebra 1, geometry and advanced algebra and both recommend an additional year of advanced high school math.
Edie Harding, Director of the Board of Education, says under the new requirement if students do not take algebra II, they will have to meet with a guidance counselor and their parent to go over their plan for high school and beyond.
At the same time though high school seniors are now only required to take three years of English to graduate - while both state universities require 4 years of English coursework. High school students are also not required to take a foreign language even though both the UW and WSU require incoming freshmen to have taken two years of a foreign language.
Today's revision is a step in the right direction but does it go far enough? Last fall nearly 8,000 students who applied for acceptance at the UW were rejected - and most of them met the minimum requirements. Admittedly, not every student needs or wants a college education.
Wouldn't it be nice though if children in public schools had at least the minimum requirements to get in if they want to go?