Your recent report [see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=31#442] on the vote of the Massachusetts Board of Education to endorse standards for a "certificate of attainment" might leave your readers with the impression that we have established an alternative diploma. We have not.
Semantics notwithstanding, this new credential can be issued by school districts at their discretion, as long as the student has fulfilled all local requirements for high school graduation (or has met IEP requirements for students with disabilities) and has met state criteria for school attendance and participation in academic support services and retest opportunities.
Critics maintain we are establishing a two-tiered system for students but, in fact, we are very deliberately establishing a THREE-tiered system:
- A student who meets state standards in English language arts and math and fulfills all local graduation requirements is eligible for a diploma.
- A student who has not yet met state standards in English language arts and math, but who has fulfilled local requirements/IEP and who meets the criteria for school attendance and participation in academic support services and retest opportunities, is eligible for a certificate of attainment - if the school district chooses to issue them.
- A student who has not yet met state standards in English language arts and math, and who has not fulfilled local requirements or the other criteria listed in #2, is not eligible for the diploma or the state-endorsed local certificate of attainment.
Students in Massachusetts are not confused. Most students are interested in earning diplomas. The certificate of attainment will recognize effort, achievement and persistence by students and will provide options for further education and employment - but it is not a high school diploma.
David Driscoll
Commissioner of Education, Commonwealth of Massachusetts