'Portrait of a Graduate' is lite on academics: They can't read, but they have 'global empathy'

By the time I got my high school diploma, I could read, write and calculate, dissect a frog and analyze the causes of the Civil War. But that was the last millennium.

Today's students need more, say educators. The national superintendents' association urges schools to "establish a high-impact ecosystem by building clarity and conviction for a shared vision of learning. The newly trendy "Portrait of a Graduate" goes beyond academics to identify what "children in your community need to succeed in this rapidly changing, complex world."

In Columbus, Ohio, for example, the portrait includes "global empathy," ability to use technology, creativity, adaptability, communications and "critical thinking."

"As of 2024, at least 20 states and countless districts had initiated 'Portrait of a Graduate' reforms, writes Daniel Buck, who directs the Conservative Education Reform Network, in Education Next. Educating the "whole child" is an old idea, he writes. This could be just another fad. However, the Education Testing Service and the Carnegie Foundation are working on tests to measure the unmeasurable. Is Caleb achieving the desired level of good citizenship? Is Emma sufficiently creative and collaborative?

If students are competent in math, science, English and history, but not so great at manipulating chatbots or maintaining a positive mindset, will they be denied a diploma?

“What should we teach our children?” has generated heated disputes, writes Buck. “What kind of people do we want to create?” could generate even tougher fights. Or not.

It's likely the portraits will be "so vague and insipid that they create a permission structure for schools to prioritize most everything except academics and to excuse themselves when they fail at their responsibility to teach even basic literacy and numeracy," Buck writes.

Education must change in “a world that is rapidly changing due to emerging technologies and globalization,” asserts Digital Promise in a 2024 report.

The nonprofit's frameworks make value judgments, Buck notes. "Perseverance, adaptability, curiosity, and agency" are preferred "over the classical virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance."

Digital Promise wants students to “participate in a cause to make an impact.” What causes would be acceptable?, he wonders. "Portland wants students who embrace diversity.' Does that include ideological diversity?"

Schools will avoid culture wars by using "standards so fuzzy that they incentivize only mediocrity," he predicts. Expect calls for “critical thinking,” “lifelong learning,” and “problem solving.” Do not expect schools to teach the knowledge that makes these things possible.

When "WestEd reviewed 54 graduate profiles across California, 'content knowledge' appeared in only 5 percent of them," Buck notes.

He also worries about the graduate portraits that include a healthy “sense of self” or “resilience” or "wellbeing." It's not clear that schools can improve students' mental health, he writes. "A handful of recent studies" suggest that well-intentioned programs can worsen anxiety and depression. Teachers should focus on teaching academics, he argues, rather than trying to tinker with adolescent psychology.