2024 Accountability EdPapers – What Makes a Graduate? Unveiling the Opportunities and Challenges of Colorado’s Unique Graduation Pathways

May 2024

Colorado’s unique and broad graduation landscape allows school districts to adopt their own graduation requirements and develop innovative, individualized pathways to graduation for high school students. However, while the flexibility of Colorado’s local control provides students with options that reflect their individual interests, it also contributes to a wide range of complexities that can make it difficult for families to understand and navigate state guidelines and district policies and their implementation.

Last month, we discussed the importance of considering robust measures of the student experience, including achievement, growth, and college and career readiness, as part of an expanded accountability system.

The fourth paper in CEI’s Accountability EdPaper series continues the conversation on the possibilities of developing a holistic performance framework and discusses why accessible information and shared language are critical to empowering families to understand what to expect from the high school experience and to access the pathway options that are available to their students.

Key topics include:

• Understanding the historical context of Colorado’s unique high school graduation requirements.
• Exploring Colorado’s local control context and the many opportunities for students to experience meaningful and individualized pathways to graduation that it provides.
• Defining complexities related to transparency, comparability, and accessibility of information regarding graduation policies.
• Evolving Colorado’s accountability system to include shared language, transparent communication, and accessible reporting about graduation processes and requirements
  

We are excited to share this paper and invite your feedback and questions. Join us in the conversation and connect with CEI’s Vice President of Policy and Partnership, Amber Elias, if you would like to engage in this work. 

Missed the previous papers in the 2024 Accountability EdPaper series? Read the complete series here.

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