Indiana. Like Texas, Indiana has succeeded in getting about 60 percent of its high school graduates to take a Scholars-type curriculum or better. In the early 1990s,
Indiana’s business, higher education, and K-12 leaders came together to speak with one voice about what courses students need for success in college and the workforce.
Deemed “Core 40,” Indiana’s recommended curriculum does not have the force of law.
But it has been effective at moving more students to take more academic courses. In
CSHE Research & Occasional Paper Series
Shireman, “RIGOROUS COURSES” AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT 5
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
African
American
Hispanic White Multiracial
Core 40 Diplomas by Race
1998
2000
2003
CSHE Research & Occasional Paper Series
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Students taking Core 40 enter and graduate from college at significantly higher rates than students without this preparation
Indiana, like other states, also has found that rigorous course-taking in high school can overcome a variety of socio-economic disadvantages, including poverty and low levels of parental education.
As in Texas, ACT scores in Indiana have not changed substantially (and only a fifth of the students take the ACT). SAT scores have risen 30 points over the past decade
(1993-2003), better than the 23 points nationally. As with Texas, we are seeking better indicators of whether there are academic gains deeper in the school population in
Indiana and other states and districts that have increased enrollment in higher-level courses. Things that can go wrong
Promoting and implementing a more demanding list of high school courses does not automatically bring school improvement. There are a number of potential stumbling blocks that can make the effort less than constructive, or even counter-productive.
Rigorous course names do not guarantee rigorous course content. If all that schools do is to change the names of the courses they offer, the students will
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2. Propose legislation to raise the minimum courses required for graduation.
Some of the possible approaches:
a. Add a year of English, math, and perhaps science, without identifying the particular courses.
b. Adopt the universities’ “A through G” courses, which means Algebra II and lab sciences for all students, and two years of foreign language.
CSHE Research & Occasional Paper Series
Shireman, “RIGOROUS COURSES” AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT 7
c. Work with a business-led coalition to develop a recommendation for high school courses.
Whichever approach is adopted, link it to the recruitment and professional development of teachers, as well as to the school accountability system.
3. Use the bully pulpit to encourage higher-level course-taking in high school.
See options a-c above. For option c, one example would be a “Take Ten” campaign that would encourage students to take four years of English, three years of math (up to at least Algebra II), and three years of science. We would want to link these goals to the recruitment and professional development of teachers, as well as to the school data collection and accountability