Tulsa Tech fights to help student succeed as rigors increase

This year in Oklahoma a long-awaited dark curtain affecting high school graduation has finally come down.

That curtain, argues Tulsa Tech director of education Richard F. Palazzo, is a series of rigorous tests in mathematics, science and English language arts that will lead “disappointed, frustrated and disconnected seniors” to “throw their hands up and leave school.”

How many? Palazzo isn’t sure. “However, it is fairly certain the dropout rate will increase dramatically,” he writes.

We’re not so certain. While at first blush it would seem commonsensical that increased rigor will lead to more dropouts, research shows that’s not the case. In fact, a study by the U.S. Department of Education found that the rigor of high school course work is more important than parent education level, family income, or race/ethnicity in predicting whether a student will earn a postsecondary credential. As it turns out, the more we challenge our students, the mote they rise to the occasion. Pretty cool, eh?

Still, we applaud Tulsa Tech’s dedication to help students meet those challenges. High school students attend the school’s tech centers Monday through Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. to take credit recovery courses, first-time credit courses and prep courses for the EOI tests, ACT and SAT exams.

We wish them continued success.