With a new 10th grade test in math and reading that students must pass to graduate, administered for the first time last spring, the path to a diploma is becoming more difficult. And a committee was appointed last year to set promotion benchmarks for various grade levels and high school graduation standards. Some funding issues have yet to be resolved. A 1994 lawsuit by five low-wealth districts claiming that the state has failed to pay for the basic education needs of their students is still awaiting trial, and finance reform is on hold until that case is resolved. Some lawmakers are pushing initiatives to remove the cap on the number, while others are seeking to limit the number of charters even more.
Education technology continues to get limited funding.
Accountability will continue to maintain its position at the top of the state's priority list, observers say. As districts adapt their curricula and teachers focus their instructional strategies to bring more students up to acceptable levels of achievement, the program is expected to lead to even more improvements in the years to come.