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“With Michigan’s economic future on the line, we can’t afford to have our 500 local school districts marching in different directions,” Granholm said. “Instead, we need a high standard, mandatory curriculum to get all our students on the road to higher education and a good paying job.”
The State Board of Education is scheduled to unveil curriculum recommendations in mid-November.
Creating a statewide curriculum is another step toward reaching Granholm’s goal of ensuring that more students are prepared for jobs of the future. She has called for a doubling in the number of college graduates in Michigan in the next ten years.
“I believe strongly in putting a degree in the hands of every single child,” Granholm said. “To do that, we have to improve education at every level in Michigan. And by doing so, we’ll help prepare our students for success in school, success in college, and we’ll help our economy succeed.”
The Governor noted that states with the highest number of college graduates are also the states with the lowest unemployment rates and strongest economies. While other states and countries have adopted requirements in critical fields like science and math, Michigan does not require a single course, other than civics, to graduate from high school. Creating a mandatory curriculum in these critical fields is an essential step in ensuring Michigan is the most well educated state in the nation and an engine for knowledge based job creation.
Earlier this year, Governor Granholm signed legislation that will require high school students, starting with the class of 2008, to take a nationally recognized college entrance exam, such as the ACT or SAT, instead of the MEAP test. She also proposed increasing funding for K-12 education to record levels.
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