Get out the caps and gowns. Bring the horns and cowbells. This achievement is typically capped by a commencement ceremony in which students are recognized individually and diplomas are distributed in a formal setting.
Many graduating students have multiple family members and friends attending. Plus, faculty members often attend these ceremonies, along with other school representatives from faculty and administration. This is why you have to plan ahead and expect a large crowd. In all cases, a graduating student has worked hard to earn his or her degree and has earned the right to be in the spotlight in a nice environment.
What this means is that you should dress to impress for this day. You should also act respectfully to all of the graduates and their support members in attendance. It may be best to put the smartphone away as well.
This is a special time that deserves special attention. Students who take three or more courses in the same CTE field are more likely to graduate than their peers and are more prepared to continue study in that field following high school graduation. Students following this path are prepared for additional study resulting in the receipt of a certificate denoting specialized study, for example, food handling.
Given that a significant portion of jobs available currently and in the near future will require some college but less than a four-year degree, concentrated study in a particular trade can be one pathway to access employment in in-demand fields. Like the teacher shortages described above, shortages of qualified teachers also persist, and are perhaps more urgent, in CTE fields.
Many CTE fields require instructors to have highly advanced technical skills in addition to strong teaching skills, requirements that contribute to a shortage of CTE teachers in two-thirds of states. The passage of the ESSA marks a concerted effort to expand beyond the notion in No Child Left Behind NCLB of an academic curriculum that focuses entirely on what policymakers considered a core academic curriculum. This quality element counts how many states with completely aligned coursework requirements, in both the amount of study and course type.
This count looks at how many states meet two or more of the four above-noted measures of quality for their high school graduation requirements. Overall, no state met all measures of quality. A small handful meet four of the five, as shown in the table below. Two states require a credit college-ready curriculum: Louisiana—for its college-ready diploma pathway not its career-ready pathway diploma—and Tennessee.
One state—Delaware—requires students to take three courses in a career pathway. Notably, Delaware also came close to meeting the credit college-ready curriculum.
It misses the mark within its science requirements because it does not require chemistry or physics. Since none of these states meet the three-credit CTE in the same field threshold, they are not represented in Figure 1.
Twenty-three states require some element of a well-rounded education. This can be coursework or other educational experiences, including life skills—sometimes called 21st-century skills, financial literacy, online learning, communications, business, community service, or the completion of a senior project.
When considering all of these criteria together, no state meets them comprehensively for their basic diploma, although it should be noted that they some do try to approach this alignment with honors diplomas or recommended requirements, such as Massachusetts. Figure 1 shows which states meet two or more of these criteria. One area of focus that this analysis does not address is the idea of different graduation pathways. The Alliance for Excellent Education recently completed a report looking at graduation rates by diploma pathways and the disparities are stark.
The extent of this issue on a national scale is unknown, as states are not required to publish graduation rate data disaggregated by subgroup and by diploma pathway. It is worth noting that Delaware and Louisiana, given their policies in career pathways, could be the first states to meet all of the quality criteria.
However, broadly speaking and despite state rhetoric on the importance of addressing readiness for college, careers, and beyond, state policies fail to meet this ideal overall.
This analysis reveals significant policy gaps for state high school graduation requirements when compared with state college admissions requirements and a series of benchmarks of readiness for college, career, and life. By addressing these gaps, students will be assured that their high school diploma denotes eligibility for their postsecondary pathway of choice, such as admission to a state college institution or further study in a CTE field.
The concepts of college, career, and life readiness receive significant attention in public policy discourse. What these actually mean in practice—especially when it comes to what high school students must study in order to receive a diploma—has been a mystery, until now. Unfortunately, this analysis finds significant misalignment between the high school and college systems. What is required to receive a high school diploma is often not aligned with what students must study to be eligible for college admissions.
This can be a matter of equity when more rigorous coursework such as advanced math, laboratory science, and foreign language courses are not offered on the high school campus, thus requiring college-bound students to seek this coursework elsewhere. This analysis audits the coursework policies for high school graduation, as compared with public university admissions requirements, and does not assess what is being taught in high school courses. Certainly, state high school graduation requirements are only a start to ensuring students are ready for college, career, and life.
Many states allow or even require school districts to set additional requirements. However, not setting a minimum floor that at the very least meets state college admissions requirements puts students in districts with less rigorous requirements at a disadvantage, setting up inequities within states in access to college preparatory and career-readiness experiences.
If states are serious about college, career, and life readiness, then they ought to review and modify their high school graduation requirements to ensure that they meet the benchmarks set forth in this analysis. When high school diplomas reflect rigorous requirements and actual mastery of those requirements, they will truly be a valuable credential that provides graduates with the options to enroll in college or start a rewarding career.
The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance in compiling and reviewing data and for their support in providing feedback: Rhea Handa, Jim Hull, Ryan Reyna, Caroline Scown, Sarah Shapiro, and Claire Voorhees. The sources listed below provided the information for state high school graduation and state public university admissions requirements. State high school graduation information provided to the authors by the Idaho Department of Education, December 12, State high school graduation information provided to the authors by the Maryland Department of Education, December 13, State high school graduation information provided to the authors by the Massachusetts Department of Education, December 12, State high school graduation information provided to the authors by the Montana Department of Education, December 8, State high school graduation information provided to the authors by the Nebraska Department of Education, December 8, Curriculum Requirements: Subchapter B.
State high school graduation information provided to the authors by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, December 13, Laura Jimenez. Chapters Chapters. Colin Seeberger Director, Media Relations. Peter Gordon Director, Government Affairs. In this article. InProgress Stay updated on our work on the most pressing issues of our time. Require completion of the credit college-ready coursework required by most public university systems to receive a standard high school diploma.
Publish the graduation rates disaggregated by student group and diploma type. Ensure that all districts have the resources and educator workforce to offer the courses and preparation needed for students to meet the requirements for both standard and career-readiness diplomas, especially in math, science, and foreign language.
Develop and maintain systems to monitor districts on appropriate methods to collect and analyze graduation requirement completion. State-by-state comparison: Coursework requirements for high school graduation and state college admissions.
Course study amounts to less than college expectations when high schools require any less number of coursework units in a particular academic subject. Amount of high school course study meets college expectations when both systems require the same number of units in each subject. Course study requirements in high school exceed college expectations when they require any more number of coursework units in a subject.
Analysis results: Years of study alignment Years of study captures how much study students must complete in a school subject area. State-by-state comparison: Course type and sequence alignment. Course types align when, in order to meet high school diploma requirements, students must take the same or more rigorous courses than are required for college admissions.
For example, both high school and college systems might require completion of Algebra II in math, or both systems may require three years of study in math and be silent on the course types.
Another obvious alignment occurs when high school courses are specified for diploma attainment and are not specified for college admission, but the years of study required for both are the same. All three scenarios would be an obvious match. Course types do not align when high schools require less rigorous courses for a diploma than is required for college admissions. For example, high schools might require completion of Geometry and college requires completion of Algebra II, which is a higher level of math.
Course types could align when there is flexibility in either or both the high school or college course selections.
For example, high schools and college may require students to take four total years of math courses, but high schools require up to Algebra I plus three additional courses and college requires up to Algebra II. Analysis results: Course type and sequence alignment Table 3 provides an overview of the types of courses required for math, English, science, social studies, foreign language, and other for 47 states.
Methods: Quality review Most states have attempted to define college and career readiness—about half of them comprehensively—by addressing a range of skills, including academic knowledge, critical thinking, social emotional abilities, and civic engagement in a formal or informal written definition of this term.
Does any state require three courses in the same CTE field? Does any state address a well-rounded education via life skills courses, financial literacy, online learning, business and communications, or civic engagement? Is any state completely aligned in high school graduation and college admissions expectations for the amount and type of coursework required? Finally, does any state meet all four of these criteria?
This analysis provides a count of states meeting each criterion. Overview of the quality criteria In addition to measuring alignment of high school graduation requirements and college admission requirements, this analysis makes a judgment on the quality of the former using each of the criterion outlined above. Cohesiveness This count looks at how many states meet two or more of the four above-noted measures of quality for their high school graduation requirements.
Overview of results: Quality review Overall, no state met all measures of quality. To address these gaps, states should: Ensure clear alignment of the requirements for high school graduation with the admissions requirements for state public university system. This will require the collaboration and coordination of the high school and state college systems in the areas of course type, amount, and curricula.
One subject area that needs careful consideration is science, since misalignment can occur because public universities require laboratory science and providing this type of science may be particularly challenging for under-resourced school districts.
So, as of , like at many other colleges, the names of Rice graduates are read at smaller ceremonies, but not at the university-wide commencement. Tyler Mullins is an expert on shortening graduation ceremonies. This year, he estimates, about , students will walk across a stage at a school that uses a MarchingOrder service of some kind. MarchingOrder talks with colleges about their graduation-ceremony needs. One is to get rid of the processional when graduates and faculty march in together or to have it take place before the official start time of the ceremony.
Another is to get rid of some speeches—say, from a chancellor or a dean. When you get to three hours, that's tough. The other important variable—the one Mullins can help tweak—is how quickly names are read. Sometimes, schools with a large student body prefer two lines, which can make it easier to organize students offstage. If you would like bespoke help to secure a graduate-level job contact us , here at Graduate Coach.
We will help you to turn your degree into the right career for you. Many graduates feel anxious about the idea of walking across the stage in front of hundreds of people. However, once you get to the stage your nerves and anxiety will be replaced with pride.
We promise! Download your free copy of our guide that reveals the seven secrets of success when it comes to landing a graduate job. Please see our Jobs page for graduate jobs. It is now common knowledge that while a degree is useful for finding a job, employers prioritise those who already have experience in a working Skip to content.
What happens at a graduation ceremony? The Seven Secrets of Success Land your graduate job Download your free copy of our guide that reveals the seven secrets of success when it comes to landing a graduate job. Learn seven things you can implement today to enhance your job search strategy.
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