One of America’s most treasured precepts is the idea of a free education that gives every child, no matter their start, the same high-quality tools to build a ladder up.
The Seattle Times Editorial Board has been pointed about the ways Washington is failing to meet that ideal. But credit where credit is due.
In the eight years that Chris Reykdal has been leading the state education department, enrollment in courses that can count toward a college degree or trade accreditation has grown by more than 4,000 students, an increase of nearly 6 percent since 2017.
That is huge, or could be. Early-college programs can significantly increase the likelihood that students will enroll in some form of higher education, and Washington sorely needs more homegrown college graduates.
In the Running Start model, high school juniors and seniors attend community college, earning their diplomas and an associate degree simultaneously.
A different approach, College in the High School, offers advanced coursework on high school campuses, and has ballooned by more than 16,000 students since 2017.
The problem is, universities aren’t necessarily counting these courses as students have been led to expect. Sometimes, credits earned in high school rate only as electives, rather than satisfying core requirements. It’s hard to fault families for seeing this as a bait-and-switch.
After all, the main selling point of these programs was their ability to give kids a head start, decreasing the time and cost to earn a college degree. Reykdal became concerned enough about this gap between promise and reality that he suggested the state auditor take a look.
Furthermore, these programs are not free.
Running Start, advertised as a way for students to complete two years of college while still in high school — and, crucially, without paying tuition — can in fact cost nearly $1,000 a year for textbooks and fees. College in the High School, until recently, could run students $350 per course.
No surprise that enrollment skewed heavily toward higher-income students — one more example of an inequity in public education advancing those who already have a leg up.
Reykdal has attacked this problem, last year nudging legislators to make College in the High School free for all. His efforts on Running Start were less successful, though he was able to expand access somewhat.
But if colleges don’t count those courses toward degree completion, families and students will still feel misled.
Reykdal need not wait for the completed state audit, which is expected in December. He can press the issue with Washington’s higher-education gatekeepers now and help our public education system deliver fully on its promise to all kids.
