Graduation Requirements

Close up of student holding a pencil and filling in answer sheet on a bubble test.
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Assessment Why the Pioneers of High School Exit Exams Are Rolling Them Back
Massachusetts is doing away with a decades-old graduation requirement. What will take its place?
Sarah Schwartz, November 11, 2024
7 min read
Tight cropped photograph of a bubble sheet test with  a pencil.
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Assessment Massachusetts Voters Poised to Ditch High School Exit Exam
The support for nixing the testing requirement could foreshadow public opinion on state standardized testing in general.
Alyson Klein, November 6, 2024
3 min read
Pencil drawing a checkmark in a box. U.S.A. ballot measures voting in elections.
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States 5 Ways You Didn't Know the Election Will Affect K-12 Schools
Voters will weigh ballot items that affect funding for electric school buses, tax revenue for state education budgets, and more.
Mark Lieberman, October 31, 2024
8 min read
Reaching hands from The Creation of Adam of Michelangelo illustration representing the creation or origins of of high stakes testing.
Frances Coch/iStock + Education Week
Assessment Opinion Students Shouldn't Have to Pass a State Test to Graduate High School
There are better ways than high-stakes tests to think about whether students are prepared for their next step, writes a former high school teacher.
Alex Green, October 30, 2024
4 min read
Two teen girls, one is a person of color and the other is white, building something in a science robotics class.
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Science One Change That Can Get More Girls, Students of Color Taking Computer Science
Making computer science classes a graduation requirement can be a powerful strategy.
Alyson Klein, October 22, 2024
5 min read
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Aligning Graduation Tracking with an MTSS Framework
Graduation tracking isn't just about credits. Learn how to use data-driven practices to support every student's path to success.
Content provided by Panorama Education
Image of a teacher drawing outside of the lines of a whiteboard.
<b>Katie Thomas for Education Week</b>
College & Workforce Readiness How Should High School Change? These Districts May Have the Answer
By supporting learning that takes place outside the classroom, districts—and states—are starting to rethink an age-old institution.
Elizabeth Heubeck, September 30, 2024
12 min read
Image of books, money, calculator, and graduation cap.
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States Why This State Will Take a Class Requirement Off the Ballot—And Why It Matters
Asking voters to decide on a curriculum issue could set a tricky precedent, experts say.
Evie Blad, July 1, 2024
2 min read
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Portrait of a Graduate: A Decade of Transforming Education
Explore the findings and insights in the exclusive Battelle for Kids Future of Portrait of a Graduate report and see how you can leverage them.
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Roundtable Webinar: Why We Created a Portrait of a Graduate
Hear from three K-12 leaders for insights into their school’s Portrait of a Graduate and learn how to create your own.
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Image of people at voting booths.
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Social Studies What the Research Says Civics Is About Skills, Not Just Facts. How Do Schools Measure Students' Readiness?
Most state assessments aren't testing how students civically engage in their communities, a new report finds.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 19, 2023
4 min read
Image of attributes of a graduate.
Parker Shatkin for Education Week with iStock/Getty
States More States Are Creating a 'Portrait of a Graduate.' Here's Why
A portrait of a graduate is a guiding document outlining a vision of what it means to be a successful student.
Libby Stanford, December 11, 2023
8 min read
A student looks at questions during a college test preparation class at Holton Arms School in Bethesda, Md., on Jan. 17, 2016. The SAT exam will move from paper and pencil to a digital format, administrators announced Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, saying the shift will boost its relevancy as more colleges make standardized tests optional for admission.
A student looks at questions during a college test preparation class at Holton Arms School in Bethesda, Md., on Jan. 17, 2016. More states are looking to abandon high school exit exams as support for standardized testing cools.
Alex Brandon/AP
Assessment More States Could Drop Their High School Exit Exams
There's movement afoot in nearly half the states that still mandate high school exit exams to end the requirement.
Libby Stanford, November 30, 2023
4 min read
Photograph of diverse group of primary school students using laptops in a bright classroom.
E+/Getty
Curriculum Computer Science Courses Are on the Rise—But Girls Are Still Half as Likely to Take It
Schools expanded the availability of foundational computer science classes, but stubborn gaps in access to those courses persist.
Alyson Klein, November 1, 2023
4 min read