Graduation Requirements
The Altoona Area School Board has determined that a high school student must earn 24 credits in order to graduate, including: English 4 credits, Social Studies 4 credits, Mathematics 4 credits, Science 3 credits, Physical Education 1 credits, Health 0.5 credit, Arts/humanities 2 credit and 6.5 elective credits.
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. At Altoona High School the Graduation Project is a research project that is accomplished in Senior English classes. Students must make a presentation of their project. They can give a speech, complete a PowerPoint presentation, create a visual, produce videotape, or complete a role-play or demonstration.
By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, for the graduating class of 2017, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, English Composition, and Literature for which the Keystone Exams serve as the final course exams. Students’ Keystone Exam scores shall count for at least one-third of the final course grade. 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.
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