A brave new world: 21st century education

In my August column, I wrote about the new diploma+ plans the Indiana legislature was considering. On Nov. 19, I attended a meeting in Fishers where State Representative Robert Behning, also the Chairman of the House Education Committee, and Patrick Mapes, Superintendent of HSE schools, were speaking.

The move to a new diploma program has been in the works for several years. According to Rep. Behning, Indiana 15-year-olds are about five and one-half years behind their counterparts in Singapore and other developed countries. The international organization that tests 15-year-olds across countries for their critical thinking skills found that approximately 14 percent of U.S. students can’t distinguish facts from fiction.

Another issue the legislature is trying to resolve is chronic absenteeism in our schools. Statewide, 23 percent of our middle school students are chronically absent and that number increases to 32 percent in high school. For perspective, that number is enough to fill 2,750 school buses.

Enter the new diploma+ program. Starting in eighth grade, students will be moving towards career exploration. One of the ways for them to do this is with the use of virtual reality goggles. The schools will be amassing a library of career apps that the students can select from to “see” what career may interest them. This will allow many students to start the process of determining which diploma path is right for them with the added benefit that some students will decide that maybe a career they were thinking of is not right for them. In addition to the use of the goggles, students in high school will have expanded work/study programs and apprenticeship opportunities.

To execute the diploma+ program the legislature has set the effective dates as the 2028/2029 school year. Implementation of the new diploma means looking at the ways that having three different paths towards graduation will affect not only the students but also the teachers as well as community business leaders.

In the end, several of the outcomes of this monumental task could be:

1. To better prepare our students for the future and bring them more in line with the other developed countries.
2. Reduce the absenteeism rate by offering students options that are more relevant to their interests.
3. Increasing the satisfaction of graduates because they have a better idea of what they want to pursue after graduation.
4. Increasing the percentage of students who are college graduates because they know their chosen career path requires a college education.
5. Providing better trained and productive employees for businesses.

There will be many questions that need to be answered as legislators, the Department of Education, and school administration and teachers go through this process. Some of those questions raised at the Nov. 19 meeting were:

• Who assumes the liability if a student is injured in the process of their training?
• Why are critical thinking skills not included as part of the skill development areas?
• Why was a low score of 31 determined for achievement on the ASVAB which is needed for the Enlistment & Service seal?
• How many other states are updating their diploma requirements?
• Do the Indiana higher education schools accept the new diploma?

With so much work to be done and so much at stake for our children’s futures, the time to start thinking about how this will impact all of us is now. We have the opportunity to have an impact on how this program will be developed and how it will be rolled out. If we wait, it may be too large an obstacle to change.

Melba Kiser is an outspoken advocate for financial responsibility and transparency in government at all levels. Her column appears at least once each month in The Hamilton County Reporter Newspaper.