Graduation Requirements
Among Pennsylvania's 500 public school districts, graduation requirements widely vary. Smethport Area School Board has determined that a pupil must earn 24 credits to graduate including: a required class every year in English, Math 3 credits, social studies 4 credits, science 3 credits, Physical Education 1 course each year, Health 2 courses, Drivers Education, and electives. Students taking a Seneca Highlands Vocational-Technical Course are exempted from one social studies credit. Students must earn 6 credits to be promoted to 10th grade, 12 credits to be promoted to 11th grade.
By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project as a part of their eligibility to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor and its expectations are set by the individual school district. Students receive 0.5 credits upon completion. Effective with the graduating class of 2017, the Pennsylvania Board of Education eliminated the state mandate that students complete a culminating project in order to graduate.
By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, beginning with the class of 2017, public school students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, and English Literature by passing the Keystone Exams. For the class of 2019, a Compositoo exam will be added. For the class of 2020, passing a civics and government exam will be added to the graduation requirements. In 2011, Pennsylvania high school students field tested the Algebra 1, Biology and English Lit exams. The statewide results were: Algebra 1 38% on grade level, Biology 35% on grade level and English Lit - 49% on grade level. Individual student, school or district reports were not made public, although they were reported to district officials by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Students identified as having special needs and qualifying for an Individual Educational Program (IEP) may graduate by meeting the requirements of their IEP.
Read more about this topic: Smethport Area School District, Academic Achievement, High School