Or the board could adopt a 4 x 4 plan. Tougher graduation standards are starting to appear in districts even without state action. The El Reno and McAlester districts have adopted the 4 x 4 requirement. That training, administered by the state's highly regarded system of vocational-technical schools, will focus on integrating computers into the curriculum. Another marker for educational improvement is students' participation in Advanced Placement courses.
Schools offering such courses also get extra money to spend on materials and computers.
The money must be used to improve the school's AP program. The incentives may be paying off. Coppedge says the education department will ask the legislature for more incentive money this year, with some rewards possibly being paid directly to teachers.