Beginning this year, the state is requiring every eighth grader to complete a high school graduation plan at the end of the school year and select a career pathway to study throughout high school.

And if they want to qualify for a HOPE scholarship when they graduate, they’re going to have to meet new academic rigor requirements by taking Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or dual enrollment college courses. The changes are part of the state’s new College and Career Readiness Initiative.

“The changes are designed to produce a more competitive student as well as get students to start thinking about life after high school,” said Savannah-Chatham Public Schools Executive Director of School Governance Aretha Rhone-Bush.

Career Pathways

To shift student focus toward career preparation, elementary schools are required to provide career awareness programs to expose students to various careers and the type of education and training they require.

Middle school students will participate in job shadowing and the career explorer post program.

At the end of the eighth grade they will have to choose one of 17 career pathways they want to pursue in high school and co…………… continues on The Augusta Chronicle

As state officials work out details for implementing the education reforms outlined in House Bill 5, a small but significant backlash is beginning in area school districts.

High school teachers are asking state and local officials to restore the requirement for four credits of social studies that was scaled back to three under the proposed graduation plan.

“Social studies provides a training ground for 21st-century skills,” Amy Harp, a Lewisville High School government and U.S. history teacher, said earlier this month when she addressed the Lewisville ISD school board.

She was one of four LISD teachers who asked the board to require both world history and world geography for high school students.

Such requests are coming at a time when school districts throughout Texas are preparing to revamp their high school curriculums to comply with the new education law that is intended to enhance local control and give students more flexibility.

The legislation eliminated the “four-by-four” plan that required most high school students to take four classes each of English, math, science and social studies, plus some other courses.

It creates multiple pathways to earn a high school diploma and gives students more leeway in choosing their courses, depending on whether they plan to continue their education or join the workforce after graduati…………… continues on Dallas Morning News