Graduation, High School

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BRIEF SUMMARY

Beginning with the graduating class of 2023, Indiana high schools students must satisfy all three of the following Graduation Pathway Requirements by completing one of the associated Pathway Options:

  1. Earn one of the following High School Diploma designation options:
  • General Diploma;
  • Core 40 Diploma;
  • Academic Honors Diploma;
  • Technical Honors Diploma.
  1. Learn and Demonstrate one of the following Employability Skills options:
  • Completion of a project-based learning experience;
  • Completion of a service-based learning experience ;
  • Completion of a work-based learning experience.

AND

  1. Demonstrate one of the following Postsecondary-Ready Competencies:
  • Honors diploma: Fulfill all requirements of either the Academic or Technical Honors diploma;
  • ACT: Earn the college-ready benchmark scores;
  • SAT: Earn the college-ready benchmarks scores;
  • Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB): Earn at least a minimum Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score to qualify for placement into one of the branches of the US military;
  • State- and Industry-recognized Credential or Certification;
  • State-, Federal-, or Industry-recognized Apprenticeship;
  • Career-Technical Education Concentrator: Earn a C average or higher in at least six (6) high school credits in a career sequence;
  • AP/International Baccalaureate/Dual Credit/Cambridge International courses or College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Exams: Earn a C average or higher in at least three (3) courses;
  • Locally created pathway that earns the approval of the State Board of Education by meeting its framework.

See also Graduation Pathways.

KEY POINTS

  • (IDOE Update, May 2023): High School Credit for Courses Completed Prior to Grade Nine: In response to recent educator and administrator feedback, IDOE reissued this guidance regarding schools’ ability to award high school credit for coursework completed by students prior to grade nine, pursuant to 511 Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) 6-7.1. Please contact IDOE’s Office of Teaching and Learning with any questions.
  • (from Indiana Department of Education, March 2023): Considerations for Accelerated Placement of Students in Algebra I Prior to Grade Nine Pursuant to Indiana Code (IC) 20-32-5.1-18.4 and in alignment with Indiana’s Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS) Advanced Coursework Prior to Grade 9 Indicator, IDOE offers new guidance for determining the appropriate placement of students in accelerated Algebra I prior to grade nine. Administrators, educators, and counselors should review and consider this guidance when evaluating placement practices and strategies. Contact IDOE’s Office of Teaching and Learning with any questions.
  • Indiana’s high school graduation rate slipped in 2017, falling nearly two points from the previous year and dropping to its lowest point in the past six years. Last year’s graduation rate was 87.2 percent, down from 89.1 percent in 2016, according to data released in January 2018 by the Indiana Department of Education.
  • The State Board of Education’s recently adopted new high school graduation requirements go beyond earning a diploma. Beginning with the class of 2023, students will need to meet diploma requirements, as well as learn and demonstrate employability skills and meet at least one post-secondary competency.
  • From Counselor Talk, April 2018:
    • The Board is planning on approving guidance for the Pathways at the July [2018] meeting, which competes with the new timeline the legislature established for 2018 graduates.  There is a draft of the guidance document that is circulating now and that the Board will do a work session for in May.  While this document will change, many of the guidelines for PBL/SBL/WBL – the design principles for experiences, courses/experiences that count, and experiences that do not count – will most likely remain.  Please email Alicia Kielmovitch [Indiana State Board staff] if you’d like to see this draft document.

  • There is still much to be determined regarding the Graduation Pathways. Much of this is dependent on the outcome of the legislative session, as well as the guidance being developed by the State Board of Education. FAQs were developed by the State Board of Education and are available here. Additionally, there was a memo regarding the Locally Created Pathways presented to the State Board at yesterday’s meeting. This memo is available here. If you wish to hear what was presented to the State Board yesterday, it will be available soon on video here: https://www.in.gov/sboe/2427.htm. It was the very last thing on the agenda so you can skip all the way to the end once it’s posted. The discussion yesterday was for the Locally Created Pathway criteria to be presented to the State Board for a vote at the April meeting.  Stay tuned.  Amanda Culhan, School Counseling Specialist, Indiana Department of Education via Counselortalk, March 8, 2018

SHARED WISDOM

  • To clarify in regards to the 11th Grade ISTEP: A new memo went out and this year’s Juniors (Class of 2022) will take the ISTEP in the Spring for accountability purposes for the USED. (This is for FEDERAL accountability, not state).  Here is the memo: https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/INDOE/2020/07/09/file_attachments/1492361/istep-2020-2021-participation-requirements.pdf.  Contact IDOE Assessment- INassessments@doe.in.gov with further questions. (Michelle Clarke, October 2020)
    • Students in Cohorts 2019-2021 may still participate in the Spring 2021 Retest.
    • Even if the student is using the Grad Pathways, they have to test this Spring (Cohort 2022).
    • Students in Cohort 2021 using Grad Pathways do NOT have to retest (unless there is a chance they would need a Waiver)
  • Q: We have a local requirement stating students must earn at least 44 credits to graduate, instead of 40. My question is, do special education students also have to follow this? What about for a general diploma?
    • A: “High Schools must offer students the opportunity to earn any diploma designation approved by the State Board and cannot require students with a disability to complete locally required credits that exceed state credit requirements to earn a diploma, unless otherwise required as part of the student’s IEP. More information can be found here.” ttps://www.doe.in.gov/school-improvement/student-assistance/indiana-graduation-requirements Under Course and Credit Requirements section.
  • College Entrance Exam Vendor Selection – memo from IDOE (April 17, 2020)
  • Q: I have a student who will have earned all credits, will meet the GPA requirement for the waiver but not the attendance requirement. (She doesn’t meet the pathways requirement either).  We have gathered as many doctor’s notes as humanly possible to excuse some of the absences. She is now asking if we can use her mother’s doctor’s notes for when mom had an appointment and because of this she had to stay home with her baby. She is also asking about making up time on nights and weekends. Anyone had anything like this before?
    • A: Considering the mom’s doctor appointments because with those the student had to stay home with her baby and because she is a low income single mother had no other means to care for her child when her mother could not.
    • A: Allow her to do some type of community service to make up the hours. We are considering the first option before considering the second option, and are currently awaiting doctor’s notes from mother.  From Counselor Talk (May 2019)
  • I’m wondering if you all could help me get an idea of how many high schools have additional local requirements on top of the Indiana graduation diploma requirements. I’m specifically interested in exploring the potential of requiring all of our students to take Preparation for College and Careers. (From Counselor Talk, September 2018)
    • We currently require freshmen to take Prep for College & Careers.  If they fail the course they have the option of retaking Careers or taking Personal Finance as a junior or senior
    • Our sophomores have to take Prep C/C and our seniors have to take a course that is basically Adult Roles and Responsibilities.  They do not have to pass the course but they have to take the course.
  • Indiana Career Explorer provides a great structure to develop graduation plans, plans for high school and college.
  • Q: Does anyone have a form they have developed to track students’ requirements with the new graduation pathways? Also, has anyone figured out a way to track in PowerSchool? A: This represents my first effort but there is still a lot of work today. Enjoy. Poach whatever part you want. Graduation Audit Form
  • There is much to still be determined, but keep in mind Graduation Pathways are different from our CTE Pathways (we’ve actually recommended re-titling to eliminate the confusion). Counselortalk, March 2018
  • 3-Year Grad Who Has Not Passed ISTEP: See Response from Amanda Culhan, IDOE (Counselor Talk, April 2018)
  • Graduation cohort and graduation rate: See IC 20-26-13: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2017/ic/titles/020/#20-26-13.
    •  IC 20-26-13-2″Cohort”Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, “cohort” refers to a class of students who:(1) attend the same high school; and(2) are first considered to have entered grade 9 in the same year.IC 20-26-13-4″Expected graduation year”Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, “expected graduation year” means the reporting year beginning three (3) years after the reporting year in which a student is first considered by a school corporation to have entered grade nine.IC 20-26-13-6″Graduation rate”Sec. 6. As used in this chapter, “graduation rate” means the percentage of students within a cohort who graduate during their expected graduation year.IC 20-26-13-10Formula to determine four year graduation rate
  • For a senior high school student who is deceased prior to graduation/HEA 1384 is summarized below (this would not be considered a graduate for reporting purposes):
    • School Corporation shall issue diploma for a deceased student at parent request, if the student:
    • died while enrolled in grade 12 of the school corporation; and
    • was academically eligible or on track to meet diploma requirements.

 

 

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