Great. The governors want more rigor for high school students, so that's where they make the demands. You can't mandate that high schoolers take rigorous coursework if they aren't prepared for it from elementary school on up. Trust me when I say that what goes on at elementary schools doesn't prepare students for rigorous study. Right now, high school teachers are stuck with what gets sent to them-- too many unprepared students.
"Right now, high school teachers are stuck with what gets sent to them-- too many unprepared students."
When I was in high school (the dark ages), if you couldn't pass the work then you failed. Perhaps if we went back to that policy things would get fixed.
"You can't mandate that high schoolers take rigorous coursework if they aren't prepared for it from elementary school on up."
This is true and giving such a kid a HS diploma only cheapens the worth of the diploma. By default the lower grade schools will have to do better if a kid is going to get a "real" diploma based on the higher standards.