Welcome to the Education Commission of the States' High School Database

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Graduation Requirements

Why this issue matters

• Research indicates that a student's chances of completing high school and enrolling in and completing a postsecondary program of study improve when the student completes a rigorous high school curriculum.
• All students should be held to common, high expectations.
• Additional coursework options or requirements — such as career majors, individual learning plans, early graduation, proficiency-based credit — can lend relevance to the high school curriculum and help students think about next steps after high school graduation.

Why our methodology matters

• Primary resources: ECS draws its information primarily from state statute, rules and regulations, recently enacted legislation, executive orders, and other primary source documents.
• As needed, policies (and their interpretation) are confirmed with state-level staff.
• We believe that policy helps institutionalize practice.
• Our goal is to document where the underlying authority lies, and where consensus has been strong enough to adopt a common approach.

Related ECS products

• College-ready Standards database
  
• Alignment of high school graduation requirements and state-set college admission requirements database
  
• Policy brief: What Policymakers Need to Know About the Cost of Implementing Lab-Based Science Course Requirements
  
• Policy brief: Ensuring Rigor in the High School Curriculum: What States Are Doing
  
• Policy brief: Embedding College Readiness Indicators in High School Curriculum and Assessments
  
• StateNote: Mathematics and Science Education in the States
  
• StateNote: Alignment of High School Graduation Requirements and State-Set College Admissions Requirements
  
• Recent state policies/activities database
  
• High School Graduation Requirements issue site

Staff contact:
Jennifer Dounay Zinth, senior policy analyst
303.299.3689
jdounay@ecs.org

A report containing most information available in the High School Graduation Requirements database for a single state.

Standard high school graduation requirements Honors/college prep diploma or endorsement Technical/vocational diploma or endorsement Additional coursework options and requirements (Individual learning plan for all students, early graduation, proficiency-based credit, required coursework aligned with college entrance requirements, major/career pathway) English Mathematics Social studies Science P.E./health Arts Foreign language Electives Other (technology, career/tech, oral communications, life management skills, community service, and other graduation requirements) Total number of units

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Use the diagram below to view the components of state-level high school reform, and their relationship to one another.

Please contact Jennifer Dounay Zinth (jdounay@ecs.org or 303.299.3689) with any questions on the High School Policy Center, or on high school policy and research.