A national sample of public school districts was surveyed to determine high school graduation requirements existing in the 1981-82 and 1984-85 school years. Expectations for 1987-88 were also surveyed. The Office of Educational Research and Improvement's Center for Statistics conducted the survey through its Fast Response Survey System. School district activities to improve learning were also surveyed. Results indicated that the number of required credits has increased between 1981-82 and 1984-85 from 19.7 to 20.3. However, even though the school districts plan to increase their requirements to 21.0 by 1987-88, they will still be lower than the recommendations of the National Commission on Excellence in Education. The Commission recommends three credits in mathematics, yet results indicated requirements of 1.6, 1.9, and 2.4 for 1981-82, 1984-85, and 1987-88, respectively. Three credits are also recommended for science, yet the results showed requirements of 1.5, 1.8, and 2.0 for the respective school years under study. In general, requirements have also increased in English, social studies, and foreign language. The number of hours per day spent in credit classes varied according to geographic region. Requirements for homework and grading policies were reported, as well as the availability and evaluation of programs to improve achievement. The survey questionnaire is appended. (GDC)