I honestly don’t know. It is something I struggle with every day. I have these students sitting in front of me who are at the end of the line, and part of me thinks a high school diploma should mean something, and the other part of me doesn’t want them unemployable because they don’t have that piece of paper. Many of them are great kids, bright in ways school doesn’t measure.
What I do know is demanding more accountability from schools is short-sighted. It keeps us from addressing all the other reasons students are not meeting basic standards. If I could do two things, I would have more vocational education opportunities and address the role of technology in school. The move to technology has had the side effect of rampant cheating and students have become programmed to expect quick and easy answers.