Dialogue, listening, and compromise are essential elements of living in a democracy. In a highly partisan time, is it possible to reestablish common ground when it comes to how best to educate our children in and for democracy? Authors Brendan Sheran, Ashley Carey, Jack Schneider, Rebecca Woodland, and Kathryn McDermott, who are affiliated with…

The prevalence of private supplementary tutoring (i.e. shadow education) is growing, particularly in nations with selective school exams. The hypothesis that tutoring attendance rises as pressure to perform increases has not yet been tested. Therefore, our research question is: does the likelihood of attending shadow education increase with an…

Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, the association between high school exit exams and mathematics course-taking patterns is explored. Exit exams are linked to a decreased likelihood of students taking upward-bound mathematics during their four years of high school. Exit exams are also associated with fewer mathematics credits…

This paper investigates the effect of high school graduation requirements on arrest rates with a specific focus on the number of required courses and the use of exit exams. Identifying variation comes from state-by-cohort changes in the laws governing high school graduation requirements from 1980 to 2010. Combining these law changes with arrest…

With a rapidly globalizing and automating economy, there never has been a better time to have the right skills--or a worse time to have the wrong ones. The right skills include a combination of the academic, technical, and social-emotional preparation necessary to succeed in the workplace. Some students may begin careers right after high school,…

Beginning with the class of 2023, Pennsylvania high school students will need to demonstrate career or postsecondary preparedness to meet statewide graduation requirements and receive a high school diploma. The new graduation requirements were enacted in 2018 by Pennsylvania's Act 158. They are intended to codify high standards for all students…

Preparing K-12 students for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields is an ongoing challenge confronting state policymakers. We examine the implementation of a science graduation testing requirement for high-school students in Massachusetts, beginning with the graduating class of 2010. We find that the design of…

The present study was undertaken to update what is known about the status of graduation policies across the nation. It follows up on previous work, the last such study having been conducted in 2011 (Johnson, Thurlow, & Schuelka, 2012). Three research questions served as the focus of this national study of high school graduation requirements…

Background, Purpose, & Research Questions: High school exit exams are meant to standardize quality and ensure that students graduate with basic knowledge and skills. However, policies that expand exit exams are associated with increased dropout rates, particularly among non-white students (e.g. Papay, Murnane, and Willet, 2010; Reardon and…

Postsecondary education is vital to thrive, not just survive. Eighty percent of good-paying jobs require postsecondary education, and 56 percent require a bachelor's degree or higher. While the nation's high school graduation rate has reached an all-time high of 85 percent, students are insufficiently prepared for postsecondary education and the…

High-school exit exams have fallen out of favor in recent years, after research showed that pinning graduation to passing a high-stakes test can push some students to drop out. The future can be grim without a diploma: dropouts have higher rates of unemployment, earn far less money on the job, have poorer physical and mental health, and are more…

The New York City P-TECH Grades 9-14 (P-TECH 9-14) high school model involves a partnership between the New York City Department of Education, the City University of New York (CUNY), and employer partners that collaborate with the schools implementing it. The schools prepare students for both college and careers in science, technology,…

Beginning with the class of 2023, graduating Pennsylvania high school students will need to demonstrate career or postsecondary preparedness in addition to meeting existing statewide graduation requirements. Act 158 of 2018 outlines five pathways to meeting this requirement, including two that rely exclusively on Keystone Exam performance and…

Nearly all states require students to complete a certain number of units per course to earn a standard diploma in the state; but courses, units and assessments outside of exit exams and diploma options vary. This interactive resource provides an overview of state high school graduation requirements. To see how all states approach specific…

In the past year, a number of states have eliminated the requirements for high school exit or graduation examinations and retroactively issued diplomas to students who had completed all other graduation requirements but had not passed the required examinations. On the other hand, some states have begun to require students to pass a civics test as…