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2000 High School Transcript Study Tabulations Report

Table 16.Percentage of high school graduates who earned at least the minimum core course curriculum credits, by state law governing graduation requirements: 1994

Minimum core curriculum creditsLaw 1 states1 Non-Law 1 states Law 2 states2 Non-Law 2 states
4 Eng. + 3 S.S. + 3 Math + 3 Sci. + 1/2 Comp. + 2 F.L.
Percent 22.2 11.8 15.9 9.6
s.e. 3.35 0.87 1.27 1.25
4 Eng. + 3 S.S. + 3 Math + 3 Sci. + 1/2 Comp.
Percent 32.1 14.5 19.6 12.5
s.e. 4.66 1.04 1.77 1.51
4 Eng. + 3 S.S. + 3 Math + 3 Sci. + 2 F.L.
Percent 55.2 37.6 45.8 32.5
s.e. 3.09 1.18 1.68 1.64
4 Eng. + 3 S.S. + 3 Math + 3 Sci.
Percent 78.3 47.0 57.8 41.7
s.e. 2.73 1.43 2.27 1.94
4 Eng. + 3 S.S. + 2 Math + 2 Sci.
Percent 89.3 73.4 84.4 64.9
s.e. 2.31 1.58 1.99 2.33

1 Law 1 states are states that require 4 years of English, 3 years of social studies, 3 years of mathematics, and 3 years of science for graduation from high school. The 1994 Law 1 states are Florida, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania.

2 Law 2 states are states that require 4 years of English, 3 years of social studies, 2 years of mathematics, and 2 years of science for graduation from high school. The 1994 Law 2 states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. In Colorado, school districts, not the state, set graduation requirements. For this reason, if a student is in a Colorado district with Law 2 requirements, he or she is treated as if in a Law 2 state. If a student is in a Colorado district with weaker requirements, he or she is treated as if in a non-Law 2 state.

NOTE: Subject field abbreviations used in this table include Eng. = English, S.S. = Social Studies, Math = Mathematics, Sci. = Science, Comp. = Computer Science, and F.L. = Foreign Languages. Estimates in this table may differ somewhat from other NCES reports for reasons such as differences in inclusion/exclusion criteria for student records or changes in the taxonomy used to summarize the courses. Some students are not required to meet state requirements in order to graduate. For example, special education, vocational, and private school students may meet different criteria for graduation.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, High School Transcript Study (HSTS), 1994.


Last updated 8 March 2007 (HM)