By Staff
Over the past few years there has been a lot of discussion about how well high schools in the United States and Michigan in particular have been performing.
During this time Dowagiac Union High School has done quite well.
We consistently score above the state average on standardized tests and have been named an "Outperforming School District" by Standard and Poor.
With this success not withstanding, the State of Michigan has raised the bar even higher in terms of content taught and the tests that measure that content.
Two major state-driven changes will affect the students who graduate from DUHS; the new Michigan Merit Exam and the new Michigan Merit Curriculum.
The new Michigan Merit Exam will replace the MEAP test administered to every junior in the spring of their junior year.
The MEAP was a series of tests designed to measure student achievement in the areas of math, science, English language arts and social studies.
These tests are now being replaced by the Michigan Merit Exam.
This is comprised of an ACT test as well as a math, science and work skills test.
These new tests will benefit the students of DUHS by allowing them two opportunities to take the ACT and have those scores reported to the colleges of their interest for free.
The test will begin on March 13 and will run through the last week of March including test makeups.
The other major change which begins with the Class of 2011 (this year's eighth graders) is implementation of the new Michigan Merit Curriculum.
This is a new minimum requirement for graduation that all schools in Michigan must adopt.
It sets the bar high for students by requiring four years of math, four years of English, three credits of science, three credits of social studies and various other requirements such as health, physical education and foreign language.
The staff at DUHS has worked hard to insure that the new requirements will be ready to go at the start of the 2007-08 school year.
These are by no means the only changes that DUHS is undergoing for the upcoming year and years to follow.
To facilitate the new Michigan requirements, DUHS is in the process of switching to a trimester schedule instead of our current block schedule.
This new schedule will help us incorporate all of the new requirements from the state as well as give us an opportunity to offer help to struggling students who may need assistance with the new Michigan Curriculum.
Times of change are usually difficult and full of challenges, but with these challenges comes an opportunity for improvement and growth.
We are working hard to keep DUHS moving forward and looking to continuously improve an already great school.