Credit Requirements. Students must successfully earn a total of 22.5 credits after completion of the eighth grade. One-half credit is earned for each semester course successfully completed. Specific course requirements are: four English credits; three Math credits; two Science credits; two and a half Social Studies credits; two Health and/or Fitness credits; one Occupational Education credit; one Fine Arts credit, and seven Elective credits.

High School and Beyond Plan. Commonly referred to as the "five-year education plan," each high school student must successfully create, annually review and complete a plan for their four years of high school and one year following graduation. The five-year plan helps students map out their course schedules in order to meet all graduation requirements, and it serves as a tool for students to connect their educational pathways to their next steps in life beyond high school. A student's plan should include the classes needed in preparation for a two- or four-year college, vocational or technical school, certificate program or the workforce.

Culminating Portfolio and Presentation. Students must complete individual culminating portfolios. Essentially the portfolio helps students demonstrate their understanding of the connection between school and the real world. It is a completion of student work during their high school years of study and reveals what a student knows and is able to do at benchmark standards, and it demonstrates students' mastery of technology skills. The culminating portfolios are then presented either formally on an individual basis or collectively depending on the model and requirements of each high school.

Certificate of Academic Achievement or Certificate of Individual Achievement. Students must pass the reading and writing portions of the WASL or one of the alternative assessments. The requirement that students pass the math and science WASL is postponed until 2013. In the interim, students must satisfy other requirements that demonstrate their math competency. Math competency requirements depend upon the student's graduation year. The following table illustrates those requirements:

Graduation Requirements by Graduating Year
 

Students must continue to take the math WASL once each year (unless they pass on one of their attempts). If unsuccessful on the WASL or alternative assessment, the student must earn a math credit after the 11th grade, which means the student must earn a math credit in 12th grade that satisfy the grade level expectations.

Students must continue to take the math WASL once each year (unless they pass one on of their attempts). If unsuccessful on the WASL or alternative assessment, the student must earn two math credits or career and technical education equivalent math credits after 10th grade, which means the student must earn two math credits-one in 11th grade and one in 12th grade that satisfy the grade level expectations.

Beginning with the class of 2013, all students are required to pass the English, writing, math and science portions of the WASL to receive the Certificate of Academic Achievement.

Students can earn a Certificate of Individual Achievement to demonstrate their skills based on their individual education plan and specially designed assessments.

A. Collection of Evidence: Students submit classroom-based work samples from a variety of core academic and/or career and technical education classes. The work samples must meet certain content guidelines that match the state standards and must include a series of sign-off sheets from principals, teachers and students.

B. WASL/Grades Comparison: Students' grades are compared with grades of students who took the same courses and who met the standard on the WASL (This option  is only available to seniors with a GPA of 3.2 or higher.)

C. College Admission and AP Test Scores: Students must meet or exceed a specific score on the PSAT (until August 2008), SAT, ACT or an AP test.

• Student interest and authentic measurement of essential academic learning requirements are central to the culminating portfolio. The student's product will be another measure of Certificate of Mastery in portfolio form.
• The culminating portfolio is a compilation of student work during their high school years of study. The portfolio will showcase what a student knows and is able to do at benchmark standards. All courses should help students produce representative work for the culminating portfolio.
• Mastery of Technology skills will be represented in the portfolio.
• Culminating portfolios will be presented either formally on an individual basis or collectively, depending on the model and requirements of each high school.
• Scoring rubrics will be used at each school to assess student progress on meeting performance standards on their respective culminating portfolio, grades 9-12.