Service-learning--community service tied to academic learning--has become a common instructional strategy in schools across the country. Senior and culminating projects-- multidimensional projects through which graduating high school seniors demonstrate their accumulated knowledge and skills--are becoming increasingly common as well. This paper…

Author develops a plan to meet some of the major objectives to general education programs and preserve the reasonable awareness of the world in general that has been its goal. (Author/MB)

Relates that all students in all 24 academic disciplines in Bethany College in West Virginia are required to complete one or more internships before graduation and discusses the internship requirements of communications majors. (HOD)

Argues that an understanding of American ideals and democratic values should be part of high school minimum graduation competencies. (Author/SJL)

Survey results of a sampling of parents of vocational education students at a California high school are reported. Areas of interest included vocational information, vocational counseling, parents' perceptions of the need for vocational education, costs of these programs, high school graduation requirements, and the importance of particular…

Describes the graduation exhibitions--a student-centered culminating project that each graduating student at the Greenwood Laboratory School in Springfield, Missouri, presented to an audience for review. Notes that the graduation requirement is intended to hold graduates accountable for their learning. (SR)

Found, based on data from 28 states, that there is scant evidence to support the proposition that high-stakes tests, including high-stakes high school graduation exams, increase student achievement. Also found that adoption of high-stakes testing policies leads to increased dropout rates, decreased graduation rates, and higher rates of younger…

Describes one high school's "senior project," a graduation requirement for all students which involves: (1) writing a research paper; (2) developing a project related to the paper; and (3) delivering an oral presentation to a panel of judges selected from faculty, administrators, classified staff, and community members. (MM)

Examines the experiences of New York State school districts that increased student participation between 1992 and 1996 in a statewide testing program. Increased participation rates were associated with modest declines in the percentage of passing students, unchanged dropout rates, similar spending patterns, and increased staffing levels. (MLH)

Argues that middle and high school educators (as individuals and via their professional organizations) must create opportunities to influence decisions about the contents of high school exit tests, remembering that they have allies in parents and higher education officials. (SR)

Less than six months after the nation's governors gathered for a summit on high schools in February 2005, at least half a dozen states have already enacted policies that require students to complete tougher academic programs to earn a diploma. This flurry of activity is evidence that demands for making high school more rigorous, which state and…

What happens when a district aligns its graduation requirements to four-year college entrance requirements? This case looks at teachers' reactions to such a policy and explores differing beliefs and attitudes about rigor and the role of high school education. New leadership and a changing district culture create the context for the case, which…

This paper provides information about Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT) and Georgia High School Writing Test (GHSWT). The purpose of the exams is to: (1) Ensure that students qualifying for a diploma have mastered essential core academic content and skills. All students seeking a Georgia high school diploma must pass the GHSGT in four…

This paper provides information about Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and TAKS (Accommodated) Phasing in End-of-Course (EOC) Assessments. The purpose of the tests is to: (1) Meet a state mandate; (2) Provide schools with student academic diagnostic information; (3) Determine prospective high school graduates' mastery of the state…

This paper provides information about Washington Assessment of Student Learning and the new High School Proficiency Exam. The purpose of the exam is to: (1) Determine prospective high school graduates' knowledge and skill levels relative to those needed for entry-level employment and postsecondary education; (2) Determine prospective high school…