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2000 High School Transcript Study Tabulations Report

Table 17.Percentage of high school graduates who earned at least the minimum core course curriculum credits, by state law governing graduation requirements: 1990

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 26.2 11.9 19.6 7.8
s.e. 1.91 0.96 1.50 0.67
4 Eng. + 3 S.S. + 3 Math + 3 Sci. + 1/2 Comp.
Percent 36.5 14.9 24.0 11.1
s.e. 1.38 1.03 1.69 0.73
4 Eng. + 3 S.S. + 3 Math + 3 Sci. + 2 F.L.
Percent 50.5 27.9 40.8 20.9
s.e. 2.25 1.33 1.74 1.47
4 Eng. + 3 S.S. + 3 Math + 3 Sci.
Percent 72.7 34.9 51.1 27.9
s.e. 2.50 1.46 2.39 1.63
4 Eng. + 3 S.S. + 2 Math + 2 Sci.
Percent 91.9 63.8 82.4 52.7
s.e. 1.40 2.32 2.11 2.80

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 1990 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 1990 Law 2 states are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Although Colorado does not have state-mandated graduation requirements, all students from Colorado in the 1990 sample were from schools requiring at least the equivalent of Law 2 for graduation.

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), 1990.


Last updated 8 March 2007 (HM)