I would also like to dedicate this thesis to all the secondary school teachers who work hard year after year to encourage students to develop a real passion for learning. HARDGES: An examination of the theory of alternative routes to high school graduation and its implications for Mississippi. As a result, the students who graduate with a standard high school diploma are unprepared for the real world.
Now that students across the United States are failing the standardized test required to graduate high school, states are beginning to offer alternative routes to high school graduation. According to the United States Department of Education, a standard high school diploma is "the basic U.S. In the state of Mississippi, a standard high school diploma requires a minimum of 24 credits: 4 credits of English, math, science, and social studies; 0.5 credit of health.
A 15 standard high school diploma should indicate that a student has acquired all the skills necessary to successfully navigate a career or college environment. His perspective throughout the book was unique because a current high school student had never written an assessment of the school system. Earning a standard high school diploma has become important to students because it expands opportunities after high school.
In 2010, the National Center for Education Outcomes studied all the alternative routes used to graduate students. None of the six states that use the ACT for statewide testing use it as an alternative route to graduation. Alaska administers the ACT WorkKeys assessment to high school juniors in an effort to provide students with a free resource to help them prepare for the.
Illinois administers 31 a series of tests that include the ACT to high school juniors called the Prairie State Achievement Exams (PSAE). Students must take the PSAE to earn a high school diploma, but Illinois does not require a specific score on the ACT or the ACT WorkKeys assessment for graduation. High school juniors in Michigan take the Michigan Merit Exam, which consists of the ACT Plus Writing, the WorkKeys assessment, tests created by the state, the Reading for Information Assessment, and the Locating Information Assessment.
In their paper "Implementing an Alternative Path to a Diploma in One State," Emily C. In addition to the traditional path to graduation that requires a student to complete 24 credits to be eligible for graduation, the state offers Mississippi currently has two other pathways the Career Option and the District Option (see Table 2: . Mississippi High School Graduation Pathways). For this portion of my research, I sought to track graduation rates in states that currently offer their students one or more alternative routes to high school graduation.
In the five-year period since the publication of the Synthesis Report 76, most of the states listed in the report have removed their alternative pathways to high school graduation, which could indicate that these states believe that alternative pathways no longer exist.
Conclusion
4 English Language Credits 4 Math Credits 4 Science Credits 4 Social Studies Credits 0.5 Health Credits 0.5 Physical Education Credits 1 Business and Technology Credits 1 Art Credits 5 Elective Credits. 4 English Language Credits 4 Math Credits 3 Science Credits 3 Social Studies Credits 0.5 Health Credits 1 Business and Technology Credits 1 Art Credits 4.5 Elective Credits. Mississippi's Early Exit Diploma shows that students are ready to do college-level work without remediation and opens up a variety of educational and career paths in and out of high school.
For students, a standard high school diploma increases opportunities after high school; it expands job opportunities and also opens the door to post-secondary education. For states, increasing the number of students who receive a standard high school diploma increases graduation rates, which helps states meet ESEA's accountability standards. With the implementation of NCLB in 2001, high school students were required to pass end-of-course Subject Area Tests in English, Math, History, and Science.
In an effort to increase graduation rates, some states began allowing students to graduate from high school through alternative pathways. Instead, I think re-prioritizing and revamping what it means to get a high school education and degree would be enough to get the state on the right track. Yes, this would make a standard high school diploma more difficult to achieve and require more resources, but I am convinced that it would also increase the value of a standard high school diploma and result in developing graduates who are well-rounded and have an increased opportunity for success.
Beyond that, I recommend that all high schools employ quality guidance counselors who meet with students on a regular basis. 34;Interim State Superintendent extends emergency testing of seniors who must pass one subject area test to graduate." Interim State. Superintendent extends emergency testing of seniors who must pass one subject area test to graduate.
34;The Death and Life of America's Great School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education." Choice Reviews Online. 3A%2F%2Fwww.mde.k12.ms.us%2Fdocs%2Fdropout-prevention-and-compulsory - school-attendance-library%2Fmississippi-high-school-nbsp-graduation-pathway.pdf.
