ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997 TAG: 9704020025
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER THE ROANOKE TIMES
Students would have less time for art and vocational education because of the extra math, science and history, officials say.
Beethoven and Picasso may lose out to Louis XIV and Henry VIII.
Virginia high school students would have to study more history with fewer opportunities to take art and music courses if proposed new graduation requirements are approved.
They would study more math and science, too.
In addition to taking world history and geography, every student would have to take first-year algebra, biology and Earth science. They'll still have to take Virginia and United States history.
Some Roanoke County school officials are worried that the new requirements would mean students would take fewer art and music courses because they wouldn't have time for them.
"It's a basic philosophical difference," said Superintendent Deanna Gordon. "They're saying that art and music are not as important as the core subjects [of English, math, science, history and social sciences]."
The graduation requirements are part of the state Board of Education's proposed standards of accreditation for schools.
School Board member Marion Roark said the standards also would reduce opportunities for students to take vocational courses as electives.
"You're reducing students' choices," said School Board member Marion Roark. "You'll see a reduction in art, music and vocational education programs."
She said school systems would have to reduce their teaching staff in fine arts so they could hire more math, science and history teachers. Nearly 25 percent of high school and 40 percent of middle school students in Roanoke County are enrolled in music courses.
Garland Kidd, director of vocational education for county schools, said the new requirements would mean that students would have a "very regimented" program with fewer electives.
But Richard La Pointe, state superintendent of public instruction, defends the proposals, saying they would better prepare students for college and jobs. La Pointe said the standards are driven by the belief that the core subjects are more important.
The proposals are part of the effort by Gov. George Allen and the Board of Education to emphasize the basics and higher academic standards.
Students still would have the opportunity to take fine arts and vocational education courses, although there would be less time for electives, La Pointe said. State education officials said some students would begin taking required courses in the eighth grade to free up more time for electives during the later grades.
Students earning a standard diploma would be required to take four history courses instead of three, and three courses each in math and science instead of two. They would continue to take four English courses.
To earn an advanced studies diploma, students would have to take four courses each in math, science and history instead of three, in addition to four English courses.
The math requirement would include algebra, geometry and two courses above the level of geometry.
Students would have to take world history and geography, Virginia and United States history, and Virginia and United States government.
To satisfy the science requirement, students would be required to complete four units among the following subjects: Earth science, biology, chemistry, physics and advanced placement courses.
They also would have to complete three years of one foreign language or two years of two languages to earn an advanced studies diploma.
Before the proposals can take effect, they must be approved by the Board of Education, which is holding public hearings on them. The changes would apply to students who enter the ninth grade this fall.
The state's proposal comes at a time when a study committee in Roanoke County has stressed the importance of fine arts and recommended that adequate space be provided for them.
"Music and art are not frills," the panel said. "These disciplines are an important part of our culture.''
In reviewing the county's school building needs, the committee recommended that art and music facilities be upgraded as part of a $120 million improvement program during the next decade.
Some educators say the fine arts should be included in the state's Standards of Learning. They say studies have shown that students who take art courses score higher on standardized tests and the Scholastic Achievement Test for college admissions.
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