Idahoans may see heavier courseload

With more than eight high school math classes under her belt, Crystal Braken isn’t the type of student educators are worried about when they talk of the lack of academic rigor in today’s high schools.

A junior at Post Falls High School, Braken is part of the first class required to take an additional year of math the school district added to its graduation requirements a few years ago. Beginning with this year’s juniors, Post Falls students now must complete three years of math instead of two – a change the Idaho Board of Education soon will ask the Legislature to apply statewide, along with increasing the science requirement to three years from two.

Post Falls has required three years of science for as long as district officials can remember, and Braken said the tougher standards help her peers get good jobs and into good colleges. But for a few of her friends, she said, the requirements haven’t been so easy. An ex-boyfriend of hers said the additional year of math was why he was dropping out, she said.

Stories like Braken’s have fueled debate across the state on the need for increasing the amount of math and science children are exposed to in public schools. Common concerns include fears that increasing requirements could crowd out electives and make graduation a higher hurdle for already struggling students.

But local school officials say the question isn’t if it should happen but when – and what it will take to see it through.

“Let’s not talk about if, let’s talk about what, when and how much,” said Jim Facciano, director of curriculum for the Coeur d’Alene School District. “Whether (students are) going to college or not, they’ll need more math and science just to survive.”

Although the Washington Department of Education still requires two years of each subject, the majority of states require high school graduates to take three. And most colleges, including Boise State University and the University of Idaho, require at least three years of high school math and science for admission.

Mike Arnold, a counselor at Post Falls High School, said school officials asked the district to beef up math requirements after fielding calls from North Idaho College, other schools and employers concerned about the lack of preparation that newly admitted students or new employees had.

“Honestly, I think we felt a little bit ashamed that we only required two years of math to graduate,” Arnold said.

The Coeur d’Alene School District requires two years of math and two of science. A committee of teachers, principals and district administrators decided Wednesday to recommend that the school board raise the requirement to three years of each, starting with the graduating class of 2012 – this year’s seventh-graders.

The other elements of the State Board’s proposal to the 2007 Legislature, including requiring students to take a college-entrance test and complete a senior year project – a project Coeur d’Alene High School already requires – will be addressed later.

Facciano, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene committee and a math teacher for more than 30 years, said the biggest things to tackle are the logistics: how will it work, who will it affect and how much will it cost?

What about electives?

Brittany Billups, a 17-year-old senior at Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene, plans to go to college and become a music teacher. Billups struggled through geometry, retaking it twice, and said she’d rather focus her attention during her last year on music and drama classes.

“If I had to take another math class and another science class, I wouldn’t be able to do what I want to do, and that’s what I’m actually good at,” she said. “There’d be no joy in coming to school.”

In Post Falls, the additional math course didn’t replace another requirement; the district boosted by two the number of credits that students need to graduate. Students still can take as many optional courses such as music and art as before. But as enrollment at the school has increased, the number of electives has not.

“When you grow the way we have, you more than likely should see an increase, and we haven’t,” said Jerry Keane, superintendent of the Post Falls district.

The Coeur d’Alene committee hasn’t decided whether to increase the total number of credits – both required and elective classes – required for graduation. Keeping the total credit requirement the same but upping the number of required classes within that total would be less costly, Facciano said. But that would decrease the number of optional classes available and would mean some arts and music teachers might have to teach math and science to keep their jobs.

Cost considerations

Increasing math and science requirements can mean hiring more teachers, restructuring class schedules and converting regular classrooms to science labs, all of which can come with a hefty cost.

Preliminary estimates from the Lake City and Coeur d’Alene high school principals put the cost to each school in the $300,000 range. But they warn it could be much higher, depending on the number of teachers hired and their salaries.

Post Falls is already meeting the basic elements of the proposal and implemented the additional math requirement at a time of considerable growth in enrollment. More students brought in more state funding for instruction, which covered the cost of hiring more math teachers in the district.

“It’s been somewhat of an easy fix,” Assistant Superintendent Becky Ford said.

But implementing the additional changes the state wants, such as the senior project and mandatory college entrance tests like the SAT or ACT, will require extra funding.

The state Board of Education is asking the Legislature for $1.5 million to pay for the additional requirements. But with the Coeur d’Alene School Board and district looking to adopt the changes regardless of state action, Lake City and Coeur d’Alene high schools might have to proceed with little extra financial backing.

“We’re trying to figure out how that could happen with no or very little increase because our budget situation is not real good right now,” Facciano said.

Making it work

Although Billups and her friend Jordan Huber, a Lake City sophomore, each said more math and science requirements would discourage them from completing school, they’re part of a minority of students who take just the minimum.

Facciano estimates that 50 percent to 60 percent of juniors are taking a third year of math and science and will likely take even more their senior year.

In Post Falls, nearly 40 percent of seniors are in a math class. Arnold, the high school’s head counselor, said the effects of the increased requirements have hardly been noticeable. He hasn’t heard of any students leaving school because of it.

Asked about reactions Billups and others are having, Facciano said, “I think with a little counseling and a little even-handed discussion … you realize it’s probably not that big of a deal.”

The district and state are looking at ways to tailor new math and science classes to meet the needs of non-college bound students considering careers in professional-technical fields.

Facciano predicts the new requirements will be easier for the district to handle than some fear. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had former students come back to visit me and say, ‘I wish I had paid more attention in your math class,’ ” he said. “You hear that year after year after year from these kids, but when you’re talking to a 16-year-old, the future is the weekend. So they don’t get it, typically, until later. …

“We’re trying to do what’s truly right for kids.”