Blog Juice for Educational Technology

That is the conclusion of Mike Flanagan, Michigan’s superintendent of public instruction. Flanagan and the state’s Democratic governor Jennifer Granholm want to upgrade state standards to require Michigan’s public high schoolers to complete 18 state-mandated credits by graduation day, with four years of English, three years of math and science and two years of foreign language, reports columnist Daniel Howes of the Detroit News, who enthusiastically supports the move.

Some of this get-tough talk can certainly be useful. Michigan is hurting economically, and this environment can be a tricky one for school change. Tougher standards work when they are supported by reforms that lead to long-term change, and when they are funded adequately.

(Also from Michigan: Strict new laws aimed at protecting children and ridding schools of sex offenders could be expensive for school districts, the Detroit Free Press reports.)