The credentialist thesis is applied to high school graduation requirements by tracing their transformation according to societal demand. Because of demands for further education and academic excellence, secondary education presently occupies a modest position in American status aspirations and has encumbered its curricula with unrestricted…

In the summer of 1985 the state of Maryland added one credit of fine arts to its high school graduation requirements. Major initiatives that brought this about are described. (RM)

A table prepared by the Education Commission of the States details the high school graduation requirements of each state, based on a survey conducted in November and December 1983. (TE)

Certain states and local districts are setting up performance criteria a student must meet before he can graduate from high school. (IRT)

The Montana School Accreditation Standards require schools to do follow-up studies of graduates and students no longer in attendance, therefore, dropout and graduate data is collected from all public and accredited (by the Montana Board of Public Education) non-public schools. Dropout data can be used in conjunction with graduate data to build a…

These proceedings record the 66th Annual Meeting of the Association for Continuing Higher Education held in Newport, Rhode Island. President Jerry Hickerson's theme for this annual meeting was, "Lifelong Learning: Crossing Bridges into New Territories." This theme asked us to examine the bridges that we build to diversity, articulation, research,…

This report, which was updated in July 2006, contains a state by state review of graduation requirements at the High School level in Mathematics and Science across all 50 states. With the exception of New Jersey, required coursework is expressed in this document in Carnegie units, with one unit reflecting one year of coursework. Units defined in…

In a continuing effort to understand the decisions and life choices of Oregon's high school graduates, the Oregon University System conducted a telephone survey of a random sample of the class of 2005 Oregon high school graduates. This biennial study--the seventh in a series--sought to identify the proportion of the graduating class that attended…

This report presents findings and recommendations from a study of the current system used to identify and report Texas students who do not graduate from high school or who drop out of school before enrolling in high school, required by the Legislative Budget Board, State Auditor's Office, and the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Dropout rates…

Differences in the probability of graduating were studied for freshmen and transfer students at a metropolitan university. The study was based on students who arrived at Boise State University for the fall 1989 term (n=2,459). Of this group, 1,692 were new freshmen, and 767 were new transfers. The two groups were similar in gender and ethnicity.…

This paper traces the development of methods for determining students' qualifications for the baccalaureate. In the 1700s and into the 1800s, students stood comprehensive examinations, which were often oral and public. Later in the 1800s, comprehensive examinations were written and reviewed by faculty, without involving public review. At the end…

The high school diploma is a benchmark of success in the United States, but what the diploma represents has continued to change. The number and types of options for diplomas vary from state to state, with some states having as many as seven choices and others as few as one. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 has increased the pressure on…

Reports, also, a 1963-64 survey; based in part on author's Ph.D. dissertation, Purdue University, 1960. (Editor/Rd)

New criteria for conferring degrees are proposed. (HS)

The question ofwhether degree requirements should be inflexibly enforced for foreign students is analyzed. (HS)