History
Historically, Minnesota high schools awarded diplomas based on Carnegie units ("seat time requirements") or course credits completed by students. Critics maintained that this system provided no statewide standards on subject content and no statewide assessment of what students learned. In the early 1990s, the Legislature, the Minnesota State Board of Education (abolished in 1998), and the Minnesota Department of Children, Families & Learning, (now the Department of Education) began working together to develop a more rigorous K-12 education system. The resulting graduation rule had two distinct components, the Basic Skills Tests and the Profile of Learning.
To graduate, students had to do two things: pass the Basic Skills Tests and successfully complete the minimum Profile of Learning standards requirements. Basic Skills Tests in reading, writing, and math were developed to ensure that students acquired the basic level of knowledge needed to function in a literate society. The Profile of Learning standards contained 10 learning areas, plus a requirement for vocational education. Detailed content standards were developed for each learning area. Elementary and middle school students had to master preparatory content standards. Initially, high school students had to complete 24 of 48 high school content standards to graduate.
Read more about this topic: Minnesota Graduation Standards
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