Application to Be College and Career Ready?

Hi, readers. It's Jared Heath, here, and I came across something very . . . peculiar? odd? disturbing, even? . . . from a school district implementing the Common Core Standards.

It's an application to receive a College and Career Ready diploma, much like an honors, AP, or IB diploma. You can read the application here (and this is the article that describes the classifications and the "College Readiness Benchmark Scores").

Image courtesy of www.ucdthetatau.org

Here's my confusion: why are districts now preparing to put a "college and career ready" stamp on a diploma? Does a diploma not already indicate (in theory, anyway) that a student is college and career ready? If we are now indicating that a "special" group of students is college and career ready, then what does that mean about the others without that stamp--that they turned 18 and got kicked out?

And if we make college and career ready a classification, then that does nothing to encourage those students who aren't currently performing well to suddenly up the ante. What it comes down to is that college and career readiness is not the privilege of the elite few; it is the province of every child.

I find it peculiar, odd, and even a bit disturbing that "college and career readiness" is not seen as inherent in every class period, every homework assignment, and certainly every diploma. That's not just missing the boat--that's more like missing the entire ocean.

Apply to be college and career ready? Come on. Common Core Standards or not, being prepared for what comes after high school is the very reason that every student walks into a classroom, and it's why you and I do what we do.

Of course we've heard--and probably said--the opposite before. "100% is impossible." "What about the kids with lower IQs and the children in special ed classes?" "I'll never get 100% to pass my classes if they don't want to." But teachers aren't there to babysit these students. You're there to teach them. To prepare them. To make them ready. And no, they won't all go on to become Rhodes scholars, but that's not what anyone is asking for, is it?

I realize this has been a rather passionate post, and you may not agree--I'd love to hear where you stand on the issue. Each of you educators deserves a voice in this issue that is sweeping the United States. Let's sound off in the comments!