In a few years, Maine high school students might be able to design their own courses of study, as the Maine Department of Education considers eliminating current requirements outlining how many courses of one subject students must take to graduate.

At a meeting with Cumberland County educators at Westbrook High School on Jan. 27, state education officials announced a plan that would create state standards that focus on students’ proficiency within a course subject instead of how many credits students earn in that subject.

Minimum state requirements currently include one credit in art, one credit in physical education, one credit in music and one credit in career and development. In addition, students must earn four credits in English, two credits in math, two credits in social studies and two credits in science to graduate.

Under the new plan, for example, a student who could demonstrate proficiency in English after one year of study would not have to take another three years of courses.

It also works the other way, said Jaci Holmes, federal-state legislative liaison with the Department of Education. “A student might need to take four years of math to demonstrate proficiency in that subject,” she said.

“This new standards-based approach allows them more flexibility as to how to achieve their own success,” she said.

There is no measurement of competency currently, said Jeanne Crocker, the South Portland High School principal who is part of the Diploma Stakeholders Group that is working on the new standards.

The state will define the assessment standards by 2010, Crocker said.

Proficiency would be determined through numerous exams such as the Pre-Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or exams given by the individual school districts in a given subject.

That will enable educators to better prepare students for college or the workforce because students will need to demonstrate that they have a certain understanding and competence in each subject, Crocker said.

“The students need to meet the standards of the state,” Crocker said, “We are targeting the class of 2016 as the first class to graduate under these (new) standards.”

The state will not require an overall exit exam to graduate.

In order to graduate, students will need to demonstrate proficiency in English, math, science and social studies. In addition, they will need to demonstrate proficiency in one of the following subject areas – world languages, visual and performing arts, and physical education and health.

Some Cumberland County educators said last week they were concerned that arts and humanities weren’t being weighted as heavily as English, math, science and social studies.

Mary Ellen Shaffer, an arts and humanities teacher at Bonny Eagle High School, said she worried that not requiring students to study at least one year in each arts and physical education discipline would hinder their education and would not prepare them to meet challenges of the 21st century.

She said students today must be proficient in other languages and have an understanding of art because jobs are more global and require more creative thinking than in the past.

“Why are we dumbing this down?” Shaffer asked. “I’m looking at wellness, I’m looking at the arts, and I’m looking at languages, which are clearly three 21st-century skills. We are taking a huge step back to when I was in elementary school.”

The previous Legislature assigned the Diploma Stakeholders Group, made up of 16 principals, teachers and administrators throughout the state, the task of developing a plan to standardize graduation requirements.

The stakeholders group requires students to meet standards in the four core curriculum areas of English, math, science and social studies because setting the same standards for all eight content areas would be too time consuming and costly, said John Wright, dean of the School of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology at the University of Southern Maine, and Diploma Stakeholder member.

“If we wanted to hold students to the same standards in all eight content areas, we would have to require them to go to school longer,” he said. “It wasn’t possible or reasonable to do that.”

Under the recommendations, starting in middle school, students would begin designing their own personal learning plans readying them for graduation, Holmes said. The students would review their plans with an adviser each year, molding them to fit their needs if their interests change.

Students could also choose multiple pathways to obtain proficiency, Holmes said. For example, instead of taking a traditional arts class, students could take a course in welding at a local vocational center and earn the same credit.

Also, school districts would design their own intervention plans to aid students who might be struggling in a subject area. If a student is struggling, the school can recommend tutoring or establish other methods of guidance, Holmes said.

“If students are finding themselves facing challenges, the school districts will be there to help,” Holmes said. “This new plan really focuses on getting students the help they need to be successful in school and after.”

The meeting was the first of 10 where the Department of Education will meet with educators in all 16 Maine counties to discuss the proposal. A similar meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 9, at 3:30 p.m., at York County Community College in Wells.

Crocker said the Department of Education hopes by 2010 to begin a pilot program with schools that feel they can meet the standards.