Study: Texas Moving to Close Gap in Students' Readiness for College, Industry

WASHINGTON — By adopting standards next year to align its core high school requirements with the skills needed for college and industry, Texas is moving to close the "expectations gap," a report released Wednesday found.

Texas is among 13 states planning to incorporate the "college and career ready standards" into its high school classrooms in 2008 — joining the 19 states that have already adopted such requirements, according to the report by Achieve, Inc. Nine other states anticipate adoption after 2008.

Researchers from Achieve found that many high school graduation requirements fell short of the knowledge and skills needed for college and 21st century jobs. They called this the "expectations gap."

States that have adopted the standards "are leading the way in ensuring that students leave high school with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in college and careers," said Michael Cohen, president of Achieve, a bipartisan, nonprofit group created at the 1996 National Education Summit. The group issued its third annual report, Closing the Expectations Gap 2008.

Texas already required most high school graduates to have completed a challenging curriculum, including algebra II, but allows students to opt out of the requirements if their parents sign a waiver. And Texas is among only nine states that require all high school students to take a test assessing their readiness for college or career.

Texas has been a leader in the movement to bridge the "expectations gap," said Matthew Gandal, executive vice president of Achieve.

The report comes three years after 45 governors joined educational and business leaders at the 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools. The study began with the question: "What does the real world expect of our high school graduates?" said Cohen.

"This is a state-led effort ... largely untouched by federal government," Cohen told a press conference.

"For states, this is not just an academic exercise," he explained. "It's about preparing students for the global economy and the demands of citizenship in an increasingly complex world."