By Don Coberly and Rod Gramer – Posted: March 20, 2016 –
Times News
Thanks to a significant investment from the Legislature,
successful implementation by local school leaders, and hard work from our
students Idaho is leading the nation when it comes to high school students
getting a jump start on their postsecondary education.
In 2014-15, Idaho’s 11th- and 12th-grade students earned
more than 100,000 college credits through the state’s dual credit program. The
early success of this program is a good indicator that we can make progress
toward preparing students for college-level work.
What’s even more impressive is the rapid increase in student
participation in these courses and tests. In 2014-15 Idaho kids took more than
twice the number of dual credit courses and Advanced Placement and
International Baccalaureate tests than they did in 2008-09.
The State Board of Education research shows that students
who participate in dual credit, AP, and IB coursework are much more likely to
go on to college. In 2015, 71 percent of students taking dual credit coursework
enrolled in college within a year of graduation, while only 45 percent who had
not taken dual credit coursework enrolled within 12 months.
These advancements were made possible because of a
collaborative effort to support a program known as Advanced Opportunities. In
support of Gov. Otter’s Education Task Force Recommendation to “provide all
students advanced opportunities by expanding post-secondary offerings while in
high school,” legislators passed legislation to provide funding for high school
students to take college level coursework, and it is paying huge dividends.
Working together, the State Department of Education, the State
Board of Education, Idaho Business for Education, the Idaho Education
Association, the Idaho School Boards Association, the Idaho Association of
School Administrators, and Idaho’s universities and colleges have supported
increases to the funding for Advanced Opportunities as the program has
developed.
Through this program, students can receive funding to pay
for college coursework offered at a reduced rate by Idaho colleges and
universities and college-level tests offered by the College Board.
Besides giving students a jump start on college, another
advantage of the Advanced Opportunities program is that it is saving parents
and students millions of dollars in tuition. That’s because the state picks up
much of the cost of these credits which satisfy college graduation
requirements. In fact, we have many high school seniors across Idaho who are
earning their college associate’s degree even before they pick up their high
school diploma.
We are early in this work, and the progress thus far is
impressive. By continuing to expand these opportunities to more students, and
building on this momentum, the future will brighten for our students and state.
Though this improvement has not yet impacted our state’s postsecondary go-on
rates or remediation rates, which have been unchanged over recent years, we
expect to see progress in these areas as we go forward.
As superintendents and business leaders, we know there’s
always more work to be done in better preparing our students for college and
career. A better educated workforce will contribute to an improved Idaho
economy, and to the future economic well-being of the state. That’s why we are
all working together to ensure a positive future for our young people and for
our great state.
Dr. Don Coberly is
superintendent of the Boise School District. Rod Gramer is president of Idaho
Business for Education.