The Delta Issue #40

Don’t lower graduation standards. Do this instead.

Hey y’all, Jessica here.

A record 3.9 million students are graduating from American high schools this spring, making the class of 2025 the largest in U.S. history. Educators agree that the high school diploma these graduates receive is a prerequisite for accessing opportunity in adulthood, but we are increasingly divided on what a high school diploma should say about a graduate’s skills and abilities.

As I see it, a high school diploma should represent readiness and signal that a student is prepared for what comes next, whether that’s college, career, and/or military service.

Yet, a number of states are lowering the bar for what a diploma represents.

When our solution to a broken system is to expect less from kids, it sends the wrong message: They can’t do it, so let’s stop asking them to.

What if instead of watering down our expectations, we made graduation requirements work better for students? Here are four ways we could do it.

1. Resist the urge to lower graduation standards.

Simply lowering the bar for kids in their final year of high school does not make them better prepared for college and the workforce.

Some states are answering with policies that lower the bar for graduation in one way or another. Illinois moved to lower the bar on what it means to be prepared for life after high school. Massachusetts just eliminated its exit exam requirement altogether.

The map below shows just how far this trend has gone: only six states still require students to pass an exit exam to earn a diploma.

This isn’t about being singularly wedded to standardized tests. Some states are trying different ways to show readiness. In Indiana, for example, students no longer take a single graduation exam. Instead, they complete one of several Graduation Pathways – like earning an Honors Diploma, taking the ACT or SAT, and/or completing a state-recognized credential. Though assessments might vary, each pathway requires a rigorous demonstration of readiness.

If states want public education to deliver more equitable outcomes, they can’t stop at redefining the finish line. They should focus their energy and effort on improving the classroom experience for kids from birth to grade 12. More on how to do that here.

2. Make FAFSA completion a graduation requirement.

Every year, billions of dollars in federal student aid are left on the table because students didn’t fill out a FAFSA.

By 2031, an estimated 72 percent of jobs will require some sort of postsecondary education, whether that’s a four-year degree, a credential, an apprenticeship, or trade school. Most people think FAFSA is only helpful for students applying to four-year colleges, but federal student aid is available to students regardless of postsecondary setting. FAFSA completion is one of the strongest predictors of whether students pursue that next step. Students who complete a FAFSA application are 84% more likely to enroll in postsecondary education immediately after high school. It gives them a real sense of what comes next and how to pay for it.

More than a dozen states have made FAFSA completion a graduation requirement. Louisiana was the first to do it back in 2018, and within just two years, the FAFSA completion rate jumped by over 25%, the highest in the country.

This is an action states can take that: 1) doesn’t lower the bar, 2) doesn’t rely on a test, 3) doesn’t require more classroom hours, and (most importantly) 4) changes real outcomes for kids regardless of their specific postsecondary plans.

3. Ensure every student leaves with a plan.

Right now, too many students walk across the graduation stage without a clue what comes next. Nationally, more than 4.3 million young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are considered “disengaged” — neither in school nor working. In Washington state alone, nearly 1 in 5 students in the Class of 2023 didn’t have a pathway upon graduation.

The education system bears some responsibility. We spend 13 years preparing students for the future, but leave them in the dark about what their futures look like.

Not every student wants, or needs, to go to a four-year university. But every student should graduate with a real, documented next step, whether it’s college, trade school, a job, the military, or another kind of training program.

States should build postsecondary planning into the school experience starting early (8th grade or sooner) and make sure there is an adult in the building whose responsibility is to help students secure their next move.

4. Make the most of the four years we have.

In too many schools, 12th grade has become a ghost year. Students coast through a single class, killing time until May rolls around.

Meanwhile, it’s still a fully funded school year — one of the last chances we have to deliver something meaningful before they leave K-12.

Why not turn 12th grade into something that actually matters to students, a year that gets them excited about what’s next? That might mean taking a college class at the local community college or getting a paid internship where they earn a paycheck and some clarity about what they want (or don’t want) to do. Or finishing a credential in a trade — like welding, coding, or health care — that makes them feel ready for the world, not just done with school. With planning, many students can graduate high school and already have an associate degree. This saves them money and time post-high school.

High school graduation is a celebration of everything students have accomplished. But it should also be a promise that they have the tools to handle whatever comes next. If we want diplomas to mean something, we have to keep the bar high and build a better path to help students reach it.