By Damien Jackson

For most students, eighth grade is an awkward and uncertain time when hormones and peer pressure collide. But new policies in North Carolina are forcing eighth graders to make decisions that will shape the rest of their lives.

The state recently implemented strict graduation requirements for its public high schools, and along with those requirements, is asking students to choose one of four "pathways" - as some are loosely referring to them. (Though the term "pathways" is a misnomer - it actually refers to specific career options within two of the four courses of study - the label is commonly being attached to all four.) The courses they take in high school will prepare them either to attend a fouryear college or university, a community or technical college, or directly enter the job market upon graduation. A fourth "occupational" pathway is reserved for students with disabilities. Once eighth graders select their pathways, they must fulfill their particular requirements to ultimately receive a high school diploma. A parent's signature is required on the selection form.

While North Carolina represents the cutting and often brutal edge of education reform, the nation is not far behind. Over the past five years, a substantial and growing number of states have increased credit requirements for high school graduation while further segmenting curricular offerings. Along with the phased institution of exit exams and other secondary assessments by a majority of states, many - like South Carolina and Georgia - have dropped their general tracks in favor of a differentiated approach where students pursue a university, college tech, or career prep course of study.

"It's going to have a big impact on our kids," says Loretha Peacock, a guidance counselor at Mary Phillips High School in Raleigh, N.C. Guidance counselors are primarily responsible for informing parents, students, and other administrators of ongoing changes to the state's high school graduation policy. Eighth grade, adds Peacock, "is too young for students to make such decisions."

Along with the early selection process, at issue for Peacock and a growing number of critics statewide is the restrictive nature of the new policy. Once a student chooses a pathway it is difficult to change and pursue another. If a student fails to meet the requirements of one, he or she cannot easily enter another pathway since it contains substantial requirements of its own. Though the three non-occupational courses of study contain similar requirements in English, science, and social studies, the college tech and career prep courses of study include four credits in a career/technical field that the university prep pathway does not.