Graduation
What are the new graduation requirements?
The graduating class of 2008 will be the first to earn a Certificate of Academic Achievement in order to graduate from high school. The CAA is a state requirement that is based on scores achieved in the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). The goal of the CAA is to ensure that all students have the skills needed to succeed when they leave high school. In addition to the CAA, students must complete a culminating project, known as the STEP project in Tahoma, meet high school credit requirements and create a High School and Beyond Plan that details how they will meet graduation requirements and succeed in college, work, travel, etc.
Here are some frequently asked questions about the new graduation requirements, provided by Partnership for Learning, a non-profit coalition of business and community leaders working to create awareness, understanding and support for Washington's efforts to improve the quality of education for all students. For more information, go to www.partnership4learning.org.
Q: Why are the graduation requirements changing?
A: Every day, job prospects and opportunities dwindle for high school graduates unable to do basic reading, writing and math tasks. In fact only 12 percent of all American jobs are classified as "unskilled labor." Students must graduate prepared.
Q: Why do the changes begin with the class of 2008?
A: The class of 2008 is the first class educated from kindergarten through grade 12 with the state's higher learning standards in reading, writing and math. Fifteen years was considered enough time to improve schools and teach students the skills they need. Our state has the longest timeline of any other state with similar graduation requirements.
Q: Who will make sure students complete the new state requirements?
A: School districts will implement and manage all of the requirements except the Certificate of Academic Achievement, which the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction will implement and oversee, including all scoring of the 10th-grade WASL.
Q: Will special education students and students learning English be held to the state standards?
A: Yes. Accommodations are made for some special education on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). The Washington Alternate Assessment System (WAAS) is also available for the state's most severely disabled students. And plans are under way to help both special education and English language learners meet the graduation requirements.
