Encourage students to ponder plans early

A high school junior who is just starting to think about his or her education and career goals too often will find those goals already out of reach.

A student who opts out of math and algebra courses is unlikely to be accepted into a college engineering program. An inadequate math background can also be a barrier to technical training for mechanical or computer jobs.

Students who realize too late they are ill-prepared scramble to sign up for summer courses, waste valuable time in college taking remedial classes, or give up on their goals and sometimes even drop out of high school.

Most schools in Virginia encourage students to consider their academic and vocational options in the eighth or ninth grades. However, there are no consistent requirements, and there is a growing amount of research, including a study released last week by the Canadian Policy Research Networks, suggesting that career preparation should begin as early as elementary school.

Forcing pre-teens to settle on a vocation is impractical and could even be harmful. But encouraging middle-school students to think about their goals and make good academic choices promises many benefits, including the potential for increasing high school graduation rates.

Under a proposal being considered by the State Board of Education, seventh- and eighth-graders next fall would develop an academic and career plan with help from guidance counselors, teachers, career coaches or other educators.

Some school divisions have already adopted the idea. Many, including the city of Richmond, did so because they are struggling to meet state and federal accountability requirements.

"They understand the only way they can make accreditation is by working child-by-child," said Mark Emblidge, chairman of the state education board.

The academic and career plans will lack the regulatory intensity of individualized education plans required for special education students. Schools will have flexibility in how the plans are developed, and they will be required only to review and update the plans every two years.

Even so, there will be a cost in staff hours and dollars at a time when schools are facing a reduction in state aid.

Earlier this year, lawmakers rejected a request by Gov. Tim Kaine to fund data specialists in schools struggling to retain their accreditation. Those specialists could help schools identify their weaknesses in standardized testing, but they also could assist in tracking academic and career preparation. The positions were not funded, and looming budget cuts signal they will remain unfilled for the immediate future.

Despite the bleak financial picture, there is never a good time for schools to lower their aspirations. The academic and career plans represent a modest but concrete way to help students get on the pathway to success.