High School Graduation Survey

Office of Academic and Professional Standards

March 2007

High School Graduation Survey

Data collected on the 2005 graduating class

Total number of schools responding varied by question and type of school Charter schools Vocational-Technical Schools Adult High Schools/Evening Schools Comprehensive High Schools

High School Graduation SurveyPurpose

To identify courses required for ALL students in four content areas: Mathematics English/Language Arts Literacy Science Social Studies

High School Graduation SurveyPurpose

To obtain information about the availability of AP courses

To determine how many high schools utilize Option Two of the graduation requirements

What percentage of the 2005 graduating class

took one or more Advanced Placement courses?

# Schools % Students taking AP classes

70 0%

8 10%

66 25%

57 33%

5 50%

3 75%

3 100%

6 Abbott 15%

Has the local board adopted Option Two policy?

Option Two permits schools to approve “alternative” activities to seat time for “credit”

89% of responding schools had adopted Option Two policy

Current Graduation Requirements

20 credits English/LAL 15 credits Math 15 credits Science 15 credits Social Studies 5 credits in World Languages 5 credits in the Arts 5 credits in Career Ed (Practical Arts) 3¾ credits per year in Health and PE Technology integration

Credits in Mathematics

All schools reported requiring 15 to 40 credits 91% required 15 credits 1 school required 16 credits 8% required 20 credits 1% required more than 20 credits

Mathematics: Algebra I, II and Geometry

66% required Algebra 1 of virtually all students

59% required geometry 43% required algebra II

for all students

Credits Required in Science

342 schools required 15 credits 10 schools required 16-18

credits 12 schools required 20-24

credits 4 schools required 30-35 credits 2 schools required 40 credits

Credits in Science

69% required biology 35% required chemistry 32% required physical science 27% required earth science14% required physics 1.3% required space science

Social Studies

NJ Statute requires: Two years of US History Civics, geography and history of NJ Holocaust and genocide education Principles of government/civics African American history

NJAC requires 15 credits in “social studies”

Social Studies

93% of schools required 15 credits in social studies for graduation

3 schools required 16 credits 25 schools required 16-20

credits

Social Studies

US History I 97% US History II 97% World History 75% World Cultures 25% Civics/Government 2% Economics 1% Geography 1%

Social Studies

Schools use various names for courses that “cross” content areas Include civics in US History Include geography in World History Include economics in US History World cultures/world history American Government

English/LAL

Survey asked about course content rather than courses

Courses are called “English I, II, III, and IV” with no alignment across the state

Courses called “English” may vary in content even within a school

English/Language Arts Literacy

All schools required 20 to 30 credits

94% required 20 credits1 school required 28 credits2 schools required 30 credits

English/LAL Content for Grade 9

Writing/Grammar & Structure 58% Contemporary Literature 33% Public Speaking 18% Creative Writing 16% American Literature 14% British Literature 11% Media Studies 9% Journalism 3% AP Language & Composition 0%

English/LAL Content for Grade 10

American Literature 52% Writing/Grammar & Structure 47% Contemporary Literature 34% Public Speaking 19% Creative Writing 16% British Literature 8% Media Studies 8% Journalism 4% AP Language & Composition 0%

English/LAL Content for Grade 11

American Literature 46% Writing/Grammar & Structure 42% British Literature 38% Contemporary Literature 21% Creative Writing 17% Public Speaking 17% Media Studies 8% AP Language & Composition 6% Journalism 5%

English/LAL Content Grade 12

British Literature 42% Writing/Grammar & Structure 41% Contemporary Literature 35% Creative Writing 18% Public Speaking 16% American Literature 10% Media Studies 9% AP Language & Composition 9% Journalism 5%

English/LAL

Content most often required:American LiteratureWriting and GrammarContemporary LiteratureBritish Literature

Questions/Issues

All schools should require higher level math courses for all students

NAEP will place more emphasis on informational text in English/LAL and will require students to use a computer for writing tasks

HS English (LAL) should be defined at grades 9, 10, 11, and 12

Less than 50% of schools require physics or chemistry

Social studies = history courses

Next Steps

NJ ADP recommendations re: graduation requirements

Biology and Algebra II course descriptions

End-of-course exam in biology Standards Clarification Project

with Grant Wiggins Social Studies survey (2008) H/PE survey (2007)