Online ladder-safety class helps Philly students to a diploma

Pennsylvania students can qualify as "graduation-ready" by passing easy online classes in skills such as "ladder safety," reports Rebecca Redelmeier on Chalkbeat. Earning low-value credentials in the "evidence-based pathway" is the most common route to graduation for Philadelphia students.

Graduation rates are up since the new rules went into effect for the Class of '23, she writes. "But at the same time, high school students’ scores on state math and reading tests have declined."

Many "credentials — like a popular one in ladder safety — have little value or relevance to students after graduation," Redelmeier writes.

Statewide, about one-fifth of students use credentials to earn a diploma, but it's 40 percent in Philadelphia.

Students with low test scores can graduate if they're enrolled in a specific career and technical education program or pre-apprenticeship, she writes. However, many schools don't offer these programs.

Many options for “evidence” can qualify a student for graduation, including "a full-time job offer, a dual-enrollment credit, and an AP or IB score," Redelmeier writes. The easy-to-earn credentials are by far the most popular.

In addition to ladder-safety training, students can earn online credentials in CPR, workplace safety and mandated-reporter training on how to spot and report suspected child abuse.

Abraham Lincoln High has a 97.9 percent graduation rate. Fifty-five percent of graduates use the alternate pathway.

It's an issue nationwide, writes Redelmeier. "Studies of workplace credentials have found that many don’t result in more opportunities for those who earn them." A study of Texas students found the most popular credentials were in Microsoft Word and “floral skills.”