Schools chief proposes giving students push toward college

BOISE – Most Idaho high school graduates do not go on to any form of higher education, and some state officials say giving them a little push might help change that substantially.

“There’s already a heavy focus on making sure that the 20 percent who struggle the most are getting a basic education,” state Schools Superintendent Marilyn Howard said. “At a time when districts have really cut back as far as they can go, it’s time for us to try to move forward with some low-cost ways of helping able students move forward.”

Howard is proposing an $800,000 “college readiness initiative” as part of her budget proposal for public schools for next year. It calls for the state to pay for college entrance exams for all interested high school juniors, plus train more teachers for Advanced Placement courses in which high school students can earn college credits.

Senate Education Chairman Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, said he does not know if it will fly, but, “I appreciate the fact that Dr. Howard has recognized that we have a problem and is looking for ways to solve it.”

The National Center for Education Statistics reports only 44.8 percent of Idaho’s high school graduates went on to higher education in 2000, including universities, colleges, vocational and technical schools.

That put Idaho among the bottom half-dozen states, and well below the national average of 56.7 percent. Idaho’s rate has fallen from a high of 49 percent in 1992.

Idaho historically has seen fewer of its high school graduates continue their education than the nation as a whole. Officials say it is ingrained in some families.

Gary Stivers, executive director of the state Board of Education, said the state is in a transition away from industries like mining and logging where a college degree was not necessary for a good paycheck. That is changing to requiring more technical job skills.

“The kids are still in families where that wasn’t as important,” he said.

According to the 2000 census, only 21.7 percent of Idahoans over age 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The national figure is 24.4 percent.

Howard said her proposals are “fairly low-cost items in the big picture of things.”

Paying for every interested high school junior to take a college entrance exam, such as the SAT or ACT used by community colleges, would cost only $30 per student.

“Just paying for and signing up to take the test itself could be a barrier to some kids,” she said. “By making it accessible to students, we would’ve already crossed that barrier, and we give the schools a tool and the students a tool to kind of assess where they are.”

Some students may be surprised to learn that they really are “college material,” she said.

“It’s an impetus to have the school be very actively engaged in signing kids up, because they’d be paying the fee.”

Howard also wants to pay to train and certify 50 more high school teachers for Advanced Placement courses, which qualify students for college credit if they successfully complete the course and pass a test.

“Once you get a few credits behind you, it seems more feasible to go forward,” she said. “The end is not so far.”

Howard, whose overall budget proposal for public schools calls for an $80 million increase over the current year, recognizes that she faces challenges in persuading lawmakers to go along with her proposals.

But she said the Idaho economy depends on students accomplishing all they can.