Table 168.

Credit requirements and exit exam requirements for a standard high school diploma and the use of other high school completion credentials, by state: 2008 and 2009

State	Course credits (in Carnegie units), 2008												High school exit exams, 2009					Other completion credentials, 2009
			Required credits in selected subject areas										Exit exam required for standard diploma		Characteristics of required exams			Advanced recogni-tion for exceeding standard require-ments	Alternative credential for not meeting all standard require-ments
	Total required credits for standard diploma, all courses		English/ language arts		Social studies		Science		Mathematics		Other credits				Subjects tested1	Exam based on standards for 10th grade or higher	Appeals or alternative route to standard diploma if exam failed
1	2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9	10	11	12	13
Alabama	24.0		4.0		4.0		4.0		4.0		8.0		Yes		EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Alaska	21.0		4.0		3.0		2.0		2.0		10.0		Yes		EM	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Arizona	20.0		4.0		3.0		2.0		3.0		8.0		Yes		EM	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Arkansas	22.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		4.0		8.0		No	2	†	†	†	No	No
California	13.0		3.0		3.0		2.0		2.0		3.0		Yes		EM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Colorado	†	3	†	3	†	3	†	3	†	3	†	3	No		†	†	†	No	No
Connecticut	20.0		4.0		3.0		2.0		3.0		8.0		No		†	†	†	No	No
Delaware	22.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		9.0		No		†	†	†	No	Yes
District of Columbia	24.0		4.0		4.0		4.0		4.0		8.0		No		†	†	†	No	Yes
Florida	24.0 or 18.0	4	4.0		3.0		3.0		4.0 or 3.0	4	10.0 or 5.0	4	Yes		EM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Georgia	23.0		4.0		3.0		4.0		4.0		8.0		Yes		EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hawaii	22.0		4.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		8.0		No		†	†	†	Yes	Yes
Idaho	42.0	5	9.0	5	5.0	5	4.0	5	4.0	5	20.0	5	Yes		EM	Yes	Yes	No	No
Illinois	18.0		3.0		2.0		1.0		3.0		9.0		No		†	†	†	No	No
Indiana	40.0	5	8.0	5	6.0	5	6.0	5	6.0	5	14.0	5	Yes		EM	No	Yes	Yes	No
Iowa	†	3	†	3	1.5		†	3	†	3	†	3	No		†	†	†	Yes	No
Kansas	21.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		8.0		No		†	†	†	No	No
Kentucky	22.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		9.0		No		†	†	†	Yes	Yes
Louisiana	23.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		10.0		Yes		EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Maine	16.0		4.0		2.0		2.0		2.0		6.0		No		†	†	†	No	No
Maryland	21.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		8.0		Yes		EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Massachusetts	†	3	†	3	†	3	†	3	†	3	†	3	Yes		EM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Michigan	†	3	4.0		3.0		3.0		4.0		†	3	No		†	†	†	No	Yes
Minnesota	21.5		4.0		3.5		3.0		3.0		8.0		Yes		EM	No	Yes	No	No
Mississippi	20.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		7.0		Yes		EMSH	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Missouri	22.0	6	4.0	6	2.0	6	2.0	6	2.0	6	12.0	6	No		†	†	†	Yes	No
Montana	20.0		4.0		2.0		2.0		2.0		10.0		No		†	†	†	No	No
Nebraska	200.0	7	†	3	†	3	†	3	†	3	†	3	No		†	†	†	No	No
Nevada	22.5		4.0		2.0		2.0		3.0		11.5		Yes		EMS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
New Hampshire	20.0		4.0		2.5		2.0		3.0		8.5		No		†	†	†	Yes	Yes
New Jersey	22.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		9.0		Yes		EM	Yes	Yes	No	No
New Mexico	24.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		4.0		10.0		Yes		EMSH	No	Yes	No	Yes
New York	22.0		4.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		8.0		Yes		EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
North Carolina	20.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		4.0		6.0		Yes		EMT	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
North Dakota	21.0		†	3	†	3	†	3	†	3	†	3	No		†	†	†	No	No
Ohio	20.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		7.0		Yes		EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Oklahoma	23.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		10.0		No	2	†	†	†	Yes	No
Oregon	22.0		3.0		3.0		2.0		2.0		12.0		No		†	†	†	No	Yes
Pennsylvania	†	3,6	†	3,6	†	3,6	†	3,6	†	3,6	†	3,6	No		†	†	†	Yes	No
Rhode Island	20.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		4.0		6.0		No		†	†	†	No	Yes
South Carolina	24.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		4.0		10.0		Yes		EM	Yes	No	No	No
South Dakota	22.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		9.0		No		†	†	†	Yes	No
Tennessee	20.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		7.0		Yes		EMS	Yes	No	No	Yes
Texas	24.0		4.0		5.0		3.0		3.0		9.0		Yes		EMSH	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Utah	24.0		3.0		2.5		2.0		2.0		14.5		No		†	†	†	No	Yes
Vermont	20.0	6	4.0	6	3.0	6	3.0	6	3.0	6	7.0	6	No		†	†	†	No	No
Virginia	22.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		9.0		Yes		EMSH	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Washington	19.0		3.0		2.5		2.0		2.0		9.5		Yes		E	Yes	Yes	No	No
West Virginia	24.0		4.0		4.0		3.0		4.0		9.0		No		†	†	†	No	Yes
Wisconsin	21.5	8	4.0		3.0		2.0		2.0		10.5		No		†	†	†	No	No
Wyoming	13.0		4.0		3.0		3.0		3.0		0.0		No		†	†	†	Yes	Yes

†Not applicable.

1 Exit exam subjects tested: E = English (including writing), M = Mathematics, S = Science, H = History/social studies, and T = Technology.

2 Requirement takes effect for class of 2010 in Arkansas and class of 2012 in Oklahoma.

3 Graduation requirements are determined locally.

4 Florida offers three graduation programs: one 4-year, 24-credit program, and two 3-year, 18-credit programs. The 4-year program requires 4 credits of mathematics, and both 3-year programs require 3 credits of mathematics.

5 Expressed in semester credits instead of Carnegie units.

6 State did not participate in the 2008 online survey; data are from 2006.

7 Expressed in credit hours instead of Carnegie units.

8 Determined locally, but state encourages school boards to adopt this requirement.

NOTE: Local school districts frequently have other graduation requirements in addition to state requirements. The Carnegie unit is a standard of measurement that represents one credit for the completion of a 1-year course.

SOURCE: Council of Chief State School Officers, Key State Education Policies on PK-12 Education, 2008 (prepublication copy), table 7; Education Week and Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, Diplomas Count 2009, "Graduation Policies" table, retrieved July 20, 2009, from http://www.edweek.org/media/ew/dc/2009/33sos_2009policies.pdf. (This table was prepared July 2009.)