State Educators Scrap GPS Diploma Plan, Instead Will Push ‘Honors Seals’

Source: PHOTO: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

STATEWIDE — State Education Secretary Dr. Katie Jenner has heard much of the criticism the state has gotten over its proposal for new diploma requirements to graduate high school in Indiana.

Because of that criticism, she said the State Board of Education has decided to scrap its plan for GPS and GPS-Plus diplomas.

“The two diplomas, Indiana GPS and Indiana GPS Plus are gone,” she said at the board’s latest meeting. “One based diploma now. We have been not stopping until we got this in a better place for Indiana.”

The GPS diplomas did not get favorable feedback from Indiana’s teachers and even leaders from post-secondary education institutions. Purdue University in particular was highly critical of the diplomas. Purdue President Mueng Chang said the requirements within them fell short of Purdue’s minimum standards for admission.

They removed a lot of emphasis on core math, science, and foreign language requirements that many high schoolers currently need to graduate. Jenner said the goal is still to provide high school students with flexibility based on their chosen career path.

“Having every student take all the same things is not working for every student. That was the number one most popular thing: ‘Please help keep the flexibility’,” Jenner said.

In order to keep that flexibility, Jenner said the state is now resorting back to one core diploma with the basics that many educators say need to be retained such as math and sciences courses. But, students will have the option to earn an “Honors Seal” or an “Honors Plus Seal”, which will allow them to pursue more specific courses fitting to their chosen career path.

In some cases, these Seals may also equate to earning an associate degree while still in high school.

“It is excellent to see the introduction of the Honors Seal and Honors Plus Seal,” Purdue President Mueng Chang said to Jenner in a letter. “Thank you for the open-minded willingness to provide a broad range of choices and clearly illuminated pathways for all high school students.”

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