“A shockingly large share of graduating high-school seniors are not prepared to go to college.”
— Chester E. Finn, Jr.; “The Fog of College Readiness”, 2017
Colorado is one of the leading states blazing a new trail for high school graduation requirements. With the lasting effects of the post-COVID era and new technology constantly revising the educational landscape, high schools across the country are changing graduation requirements to best prepare their seniors for life beyond high school.
Making sure that scholars are prepared for the world when they leave school is largely based on success in the early grades. Learning to read well, developing critical thinking skills, and problem-solving abilities are foundations upon which future learning competencies are based.
The Leman Academy of Excellence, a tuition-free K-8 charter school with campuses in both Arizona and Colorado, is riding the wave of change; they are preparing their young scholars for the rigors of academic learning they’ll encounter in high school and beyond. Teaching with the Classical Education model, Leman Academy emphasizes training young minds to think independently and decisively. Scholars at Leman study classical literature and engage in Socratic discussions. From the very beginning, they’re provided the tools with which to build strong academic foundations.
With the view that success in secondary education and in life depends greatly on scholars’ academic achievements in the early years, we can zoom in on how Colorado’s new requirements are being met. We’ll go into depth with the following:
- An Overview of Colorado’s New Graduation Requirements
- Why Early Preparation is More Important Now Than Ever
- How Leman Academy Builds a Future-Ready Foundation
- The Life Skills That Support Graduation and Beyond
- How Leman Academy Bridges K-8 to High School Success
- The Long-Term Impact of a Classical Education
An Overview of Colorado’s New Graduation Requirements
In the effort to prepare high school graduates for the future of higher learning, joining the military, or setting out on a career path, Colorado passed Bill 07-1118 in October 2021. Students planning to graduate must prove their competencies across a range of skills, including entrepreneurial, personal, civic, and professional skill mastery. Referred to as a “Menu of College and Career-Ready Demonstrations”, the state provides school districts the right to accept certain options from this menu, to require higher scores from the tests they accept, and to create their programs as long as they comply with the minimum education minimums stated in the Bill.
Set by the state of Colorado for its high school graduates, proof of readiness can be provided by these standards of competency:
- An Accuplacer score* of 241 on reading or 236 on sentence writing
- An Accuplacer score of 255 on arithmetic or 230 on quantitative reasoning, algebra, and statistics (*Accuplacer is a computerized assessment test)
- An ACT score of 18 in English and 19 in math
- A level of Bronze or higher in ACT Workkeys (assessment for job skills)
- An advanced placement exam with a score of 2 or higher (range is 1-5)
- A score of 31 or higher on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
- Passing grades for students in concurrent enrollment with college courses
- A district capstone project
- Industry certificate for readiness in reading, writing, and mathematics
- An International Baccalaureate (IB) exam with a score of 4 or higher (highest is 7)
- An SAT score of 470 in reading and 500 in mathematics
- A collaboratively developed, standards-based performance assessment
The Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) in Colorado is a multi-year process that allows scholars to explore career and academic options. School leaders and faculty, in collaboration with school counselors, use ICAP as a tool for reflecting on how a scholar’s post-secondary and workforce readiness (PWR) is accomplished.
At the heart of all these efforts is the goal that scholars will effectively and successfully transfer their school-acquired skills and knowledge to real-world applications.
Why Early Preparation is More Important Now Than Ever
What neurological and cognitive scientists know for a fact, and what teachers have long suspected, is that when a child receives high-quality education at an early age, he or she is set up for better learning as they grow older. 90% of brain development happens in the first five years of life. Hence, positive outcomes in scholars’ academic lives are dependent upon the quality of instruction they receive when they’re very young. The ability to demonstrate keen critical thinking skills likewise begins early, in elementary school. Critical thinking skills are the skills people use to analyze and evaluate information and then make informed decisions and judgments. In addition, the ability to develop self-discipline begins at a young age, too.
The years between kindergarten and eighth grade are the greatest for growth and change in children, not just their physical size but also their mental development. Learning to write fluently, develop logical thinking, and solve problems takes many years to develop. Schools must provide children with plenty of opportunity, guidance, and support in the early years to ensure they have the best chance possible for academic success in high school and beyond.
Research supports the fact that childhood experiences in school have a significant influence on future development and well-being. When scholars are not supplied with a strong foundation in their early years, they will likely struggle to meet high school benchmarks required for graduation.
How Leman Academy Builds a Future-Ready Foundation
The Leman Academy of Excellence is a tuition-free, K-8 charter school with campuses in Arizona and Colorado. It teaches with the Classical Education model, which is based upon the Trivium and its three age-related, distinct stages: the Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric stages of learning. A unique aspect of this model of teaching is that it helps scholars learn how to think rather than merely imparting to them what to think. With studies focused on classical literature and history, scholars engage in active discussions and collaborative projects to evaluate the thoughts, decisions, and ideas that shaped Western Civilization.
Classical studies in math and science help scholars develop logical reasoning and problem-solving skills. With logical thinking and its use in dissecting information, identifying correlations, identifying patterns, and applying deductive and inductive reasoning, logical thinking is an essential skill for scholars to have in their tool belts.
The Leman Academy’s Classical Education model also equips scholars with well-developed characters. They learn responsibility, perseverance, and integrity in both active and passive processes. Actively, scholars discuss the virtues and morals they find in classical literature, and they form opinions about people’s ideas and historical events. They share their opinions in Socratic discussions and written essays. In a passive or more private nature, Leman Academy encourages its scholars to manage their time, develop positive social interactions, and participate in class and school activities. In this way, scholars form personal habits and discipline that lead to success in high school, college, and in life.
Life Skills That Support Graduation and Beyond
Highlighted in Colorado’s new graduation requirements are the skills that promote real-world readiness. Critical thinking, effective communication, excellent problem-solving, and the ability to work well within a team are some of the real-world skills for which scholars need to prepare.
The Leman Academy of Excellence integrates readiness skills development within its school curriculum. Scholars, even from the early grades, participate in giving presentations to their classes, thus growing skills in both public speaking and rhetoric. Leman teaches research skills and administers many writing assignments that help scholars hone their resourcefulness and expressiveness in communication.
In addition, Leman instills habits early in scholars’ lives: setting goals, managing time, and developing a growth mindset. By teaching how to think, Leman encourages open minds, curiosity, and questions. These traits form the foundation of a mind that is open to growth and encouraged to learn.
Civic responsibility, virtue, and leadership are all part of the Classical Education model, and Leman Academy provides scholars with an abundance of exposure to these characteristics through a comprehensive study of classical literature and discussion.
Given the depth of intellectual participation, Leman Academy and its Classical Education model provide an ideal education for real-life preparation in today’s world.
How Leman Academy Bridges K-8 to High School Success
Leman Academy’s education is more open than that of traditional public schools. In classroom discussions, scholars strive to share what they’re thinking and what they believe. They learn in a collaborative setting where scholars contribute, support, and motivate each other. In contrast to most traditional school settings, where scholars listen to lectures, Leman’s scholars are eager to share and participate in their learning.
Leman’s scholars excel no matter where they attend high school after eighth grade. They enter high school ahead of their peers in reading, writing, and math benchmarks. 54% of scholars at Leman tested at or above the proficiency level in reading, and 46% at or above the proficiency level in mathematics. In fact, the scholars at Leman are a whole year ahead of their peers in math, having started the first-grade curriculum in kindergarten.
With confidence and a love for learning, Leman’s scholars are in a position to meet and exceed the ICAP competency expectations. Leman’s alumni are performing well in high schools across Arizona and Colorado and are prepared to meet or exceed graduation requirement expectations with clarity and purpose.
The Long-Term Impact of a Classical Foundation
When children begin school with Classical Education, they form thinking and learning habits at an early age. The child’s brain is more malleable than an adult’s brain and is subject to learning more quickly. When habits are formed at an early age, they are likely to remain as children grow older. A classical foundation raises them with long-range critical thinking skills and life-long habits that impact their later school years, college, and career.
By building positive character traits in children via Classical Education, scholars become morally grounded and develop strong leadership skills. Thus, graduating from a Classical Education school, they take much more with them than just having completed the correct number and type of credits. They take with them an inner, well-developed core of strength, confidence, and a compass pointing them toward success with future endeavors.
Conclusion
It’s commendable that the Colorado Department of Education is raising the bar on requirements to help graduates become ready for post-graduate demands. However, traditional public schools, no matter what their graduation requirements, will not be able to raise the standard of quality education as high as Classical Education does. That’s because of the way the classical model is structured; with the Trivium, scholars begin to hard-wire knowledge and thinking processes from the earliest grade levels.
The Leman Academy of Excellence offers a tuition-free classical education that lays the groundwork for stellar academic, personal, and professional success.
Explore how Leman Academy prepares young scholars not just for high school but for life.