Changes in graduation policies and requirements that specifically call for raised academic standards for all students, as well as the development of exit exams linked to a student’s eligibility to receive a standard high school diploma, are strategies that states have used to increase student learning. Both state and federal attention to graduation rates demonstrate the perceived link between completing school with a standard diploma and successful future adult roles. How to successfully include students with disabilities in these policies, whether to provide other types of exit documents, and then determining the consequences of various policy approaches has always been a challenge for states.

It is important to continue to document high school graduation policies and requirements in relation to students with disabilities. The controversy about potential negative and positive consequences continues, and because of this, a clear understanding of what the policies and requirements actually are is essential. Examining not only the policies and requirements, but also individuals’ perspectives on the potential effects of these on students with disabilities, assists in thinking through the policy issues that need to be addressed.

The present study was undertaken to update the status of graduation policies across the nation. It follows up on previous work, the last study having been conducted in 2002, just after the implementation of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Three research questions served as the focus of this national study of high school graduation requirements and diploma options for students with and without disabilities:

1. What is the range and variation in state graduation requirements and diploma options across the United States for students with and without disabilities?

2. What are the intended and unintended consequences that result for students when they are required to pass exit exams to receive a high school diploma?

3. What are the intended and unintended consequences of using single or multiple diploma options for students with disabilities?

Responses were collected from states via an online survey that contained questions aligned to previous surveys. Respondents were state directors of special education or their designees in all 50 states and the District of Columbia; the return rate was 100%.

Results indicated some changes in graduation requirements and diploma options from the previous survey. For example, fewer states seemed to be using exit exams as part of their requirements. In addition, states seemed to be decreasing the use of some diploma options, such as the IEP diploma, while increasing others, such as honors diplomas. Still, there continued to be an array of diploma options available to students with disabilities; these may or may not benefit students with respect to future opportunities for postsecondary access and employment. States do have options for students who do not pass high stakes exit exams, including scoring options and testing options.

Recommendations produced from this study are as follows:

It will be important to study the consequences – beyond the perceptions of those setting policies and those working with students – by examining data on the scores of students on high school exit exams, for example, and by following students across time. Continued attention to this important policy area for students with disabilities is essential.

For more than two decades, state and local education agencies have developed and implemented standards-based education reforms in response to growing public criticism that students exit America’s high schools lacking the skills and knowledge required to be productive citizens. The movement to standards-based education dates from the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983, and its message, that we were "falling behind" our international counterparts, was further reinforced in 1990 by the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Other evidence also suggested that America’s schools were "falling short" in providing equitable opportunities for all of its children (as in The Forgotten Half, or The Scans Report for America 2000). Such reports and others lead to a general consensus that there are serious things wrong with public education, that the problems are systemic rather than problematic, and that nothing short of major structural change will fix these problems (Cobb & Johnson, 1997).

In response to the critique of public education and the movement to standards-based education, states have implemented graduation policies and requirements that call for raised academic standards for all students, state, and local district testing; development of exit exams linked to a student’s eligibility to receive a high school diploma; and a focus on increasing student graduation rates. All of these strategies are intended to increase the level of student learning and achievement essential to entering future adult roles.

One of the major challenges in implementing such rigorous high school graduation policies is how to include students with disabilities (Center on Education Policy, 2003; Policy Information Clearinghouse, 1997; Lehr, Clapper, & Thurlow, 2005). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 and 2004 require that students with disabilities participate in state and district assessments and that their performance be reported. In addition, state special education units are held accountable for identifying targets for improvement through 2011 in State Performance Plans (SPPs), with graduation rate as Indicator 1, and are reviewed for approval by the Secretary of Education. Each state subsequently submits an Annual Performance Reports (APR) with graduation performance data and a comparison of performance to targets. The APRs are reviewed by the Secretary and after review each state is designated as Meets Requirements, Needs Assistance, Needs Intervention, or Needs Substantial Intervention. Additionally the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, signed into law in 2002, requires that schools and school districts demonstrate that all students are making adequate yearly progress (AYP), as benchmarked by average test scores and other measures. Further, schools and districts that fail to show achievement gains among students with disabilities, English language learners, minority students, and low-income groups are subject to various district and state interventions.

NCLB focuses on school accountability measures and does not require that such assessments be used for promotion or graduation. It does, however, require that the graduation rate be another indicator that states use to determine whether districts are making AYP. Graduation rate is calculated as the number of students who complete high school in four years with a standard high school diploma, although states submit the specific way in which they calculate this rate for NCLB (Forte & Erpenbach, 2006). States and districts are responding to all of these new requirements with broad-based policies and administrative efforts to address how all students, including students with disabilities, will be included.

The courts have ruled in favor of the participation of students with disabilities in state and local testing programs, including the use of high school exit exams. In Debra P. v. Turlington (1981), a group of African-American students challenged the Florida exit exam as being racially biased. In this landmark case, a U.S. Court of Appeals established that a high school diploma is a property interest, which makes it subject to protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision in this case imposed requirements of curricular validity and adequate notice of high school exit exams. Further in Brookhart v. Illinois State Board of Education (1983), the court found that students with disabilities can be held to the same graduation requirements as nondisabled students, but schools must guarantee students with disabilities the opportunity to learn the required material (Center on Education Policy, 2002; U.S. Department of Education, 2002). In this case, the court recognized that students with disabilities might require more advanced notice and opportunities to prepare for such testing than other general education students.

Recent court cases have focused more specifically on graduation exit testing requirements and the use of accommodations. In the settlement of a case against the state of Oregon by Disability Rights Advocates, Oregon agreed that for its Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) and other state testing as well, it would first view all accommodations as valid, that is, until the state could gather evidence to indicate that specific accommodations would result in invalid scores (Disability Rights Advocates, 2001; Fine, 2001). It also agreed that it would initiate a juried assessment process for those students who met the CIM requirements but were unable to demonstrate their mastery on a paper and pencil test. Technically, Oregon’s CIM is not an exit exam because all students who meet coursework requirements achieve a standard diploma—the certificate is an indication that the student has mastered the content considered necessary for high school graduates to master.

More recently, in Chapman v. California Department of Education (2002), the federal courts ordered California to allow accommodations in testing procedures for students with disabilities. In this case, California students with disabilities filed a lawsuit challenging the state exit exam. The courts also ordered the state of California to develop an alternative form of the test for students who cannot be appropriately assessed by a standardized test. This ruling represented the first time a state has been ordered to adjust its high school exit exam for students with disabilities. In May of 2007 California’s board of education recommended to the state legislature that all students take and pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) and that the state not develop alternative exit assessments (Samuels, 2007). If students with disabilities are unable to pass the test or decide not to take it, certificates of attendance or achievement will be available to them instead.

One response to demands for better graduates is the use of high school exit exams to determine whether a student earns a high school diploma. Such tests are considered "high stakes" since earning or not earning a high school diploma directly affects an individual’s future economic self-sufficiency and well-being as an adult. Though exit exams have evolved with considerable controversy, there has been a trend toward increasing the use of exit exams in recent years. In 1997, 16 states had exit exams in place as a condition for receiving a standard diploma (McDonnell, McLaughlin, & Morison, 1997). This number increased to 18 states in 1998 (Heubert & Hauser, 1999), 22 states in 2000 (Olson, Jones, & Bond, 2001), and 27 in 2003 (Johnson & Thurlow, 2003).

High stakes exit exams and other measures to improve the quality of high school graduates place pressure on all students, but that pressure falls particularly hard on certain groups of students: students with disabilities, minority students, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students (Center on Education Policy, 2005). Thus states are experimenting with an array of differentiated or alternative diplomas, and not all are alike. The array of diploma options ranges from honors diplomas, to the standard diploma, to certificates of completion or attendance, and others. Some states offer special diplomas to students who take rigorous course work, achieve a high grade point average, or post high scores on state exams (Martinez & Bray, 2002). In addition, some diploma options and certificates are just for students receiving special education services (Guy, Shin, Lee, & Thurlow, 1999). Whether options such as certificates, IEP/special education diplomas, occupational/vocational diplomas, and other alternative responses will equate to a high school diploma—particularly in relation to future adult outcomes, and access to postsecondary education and to future employment and earnings (Johnson & Thurlow, 2003) —has not been well examined, although investigators are beginning to attempt to study this issue (Gaumer, 2003)

There is a critical need to examine the current and future implications of varied state graduation requirements and diploma options. This has become important because of the findings that students with disabilities experience significant negative outcomes when they do not earn a high school or equivalent diploma (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996; Bruininks, Thurlow, Lewis, & Larson, 1988; Edgar, 1987; Hasazi, Gordon, & Roe, 1985; Johnson, McGrew, Bloomberg, Bruininks, & Lin, 1997; Wagner, 1992). There are also data to suggest that more stringent graduation requirements may be related to higher rates of dropping out of school among students with disabilities, compared with the drop-out rates of students without disabilities (Education Trust, 2003; Orfield, Losen, Wald, & Swanson, 2004; Wagner et al., 1991).

This paper examines the results of a national study on the current status of state graduation policies and diploma options for youth with disabilities. We examined state policies in relation to their intended benefits as well as possible unintended consequences, and compared the findings with a similar study conducted by Johnson and Thurlow in 2002. The rationale for both studies was based on the following assumptions:

• State and local district graduation requirements for students with and without disabilities continue to evolve, and there is a need to follow these policy trends and examine their impact on youth with disabilities.

• State and local districts are also evolving a range of differentiated diploma options for students with and without disabilities, and these options need to be examined to assess their potential impact on youth with disabilities.

• As state and local districts proceed in implementing these policies and procedures, additional information is critically needed to examine both their intended and unintended consequences for youth with disabilities.

States such as Florida and New York have attached high-stakes exams to graduation since the late 1960s and early 1970s. The minimum competency test movement of the late 1970s and 1980s arose from similar issues to those that the present-day graduation requirements and use of exit exams attempt to resolve. Minimum competency tests were established in response to concerns of employers, parents, and the general public that young people were exiting high schools ill-prepared for adult life. Advocates of minimum competency testing argued that schools had relaxed their standards and strayed from their academic mission—a problem that could be solved by getting "back to basics" (Lerner, 1991).

Options for students with disabilities participating in these state-level minimum competency tests were exclusion from such testing programs, use of different standards, and use of different tests (Wildemuth, 1983). Little attention was directed to the participation of students with disabilities in such testing programs. Despite their popularity (statewide minimum competency testing grew from 2 to 34 states from 1973 to 1983), studies concluded that these tests did not bring about the significant gains in student learning or broad improvements in public education that reformers had hoped for (U. S. Office of Technology Assessment, 1992). In addition, the study (1992) reported that these tests were disproportionately harming minority and low-income students and increasing dropout rates. The minimum competency test movement, however, served as a template, in many respects, for the standards-based reform initiatives that began in the early 1990s.

Over the years, graduation requirements have taken many forms. Requirements that states set for graduation can range from Carnegie unit requirements (a certain number of class credits earned in specific areas) to the successful passing of minimum competency tests, high school exit exams, and/or a series of benchmark exams (Guy et al., 1999; Thurlow, Ysseldyke, & Anderson, 1995). States also vary in their use and application of these requirements for graduation. The alignment of exit exams with state and local graduation requirements has increased across the United States. The Center on Education Policy (2006) reported that 22 states required students to pass an exit exam to receive a diploma in 2006, with 25 states expected to have these exams in place by 2012. This is an increase from 16 states in 1997 (National Research Council, 1997), 18 in 1998 (Heubert & Hauser, 1999), and 22 states in 2000 (Olson, Jones, & Bond, 2001), and a decrease from 27 in 2003 in the survey conducted by Johnson and Thurlow (2003).

High-stakes testing has become a significant part of standards-based reform and educational accountability. Tests are "high stakes" when they are used in making decisions about which students will be promoted or retained in grade and which will receive high school diplomas (Heubert, 2002; Thurlow & Johnson, 2000). The use of exit exams to determine whether a student earns a high school diploma, for example, is "high stakes" because it has lifelong consequences and directly affects an individual’s economic self-sufficiency and well-being as an adult. The consequences of high-stakes testing for students with disabilities as a component of educational accountability is not, however, well understood (Lewis, 2000; Heubert, 2002; Thurlow & Johnson, 2000).

Proponents of the use of high-stakes exit exams believe that such exams motivate students and teachers to work harder and focus more attention on important learning goals, so that students will learn more and be better prepared for later life (Center on Education Policy, 2002). Others believe that students with disabilities and minority students are often victims of low expectations and weak instruction and stand to benefit from efforts to provide high-quality instruction for all students (National Research Council, 1997). Critics of high-stakes exit exams point to several observable negative consequences that students may experience. These include:

• increased drop-out rate, particularly among minority and poor students and students with disabilities;

• retention of students within grades until they demonstrate improved performance on state and local district exams;

• increased referrals of general education students to special education, due to increased pressures to pass exit exams;

• narrowing of the curriculum and instruction to focus on specific learning outcomes assessed in state and local district tests;

• limitations in the range of curricular and program options students can participate in because of intensified efforts to concentrate on areas of weakness identified by testing (consequently limiting options for participation in vocational education, work-study, instruction in adult living skills, and others); and

• unknown impact of receiving an alternative or different diploma option other than the standard diploma in terms of future postsecondary education and employment opportunities (Allington & McGill-Franzen, 1992; Education Commission of the States, 1998; Heubert, 2002; Johnson, Stodden, Emanuel, Luecking, & Mack, 2002; Lane, Park, & Stone, 1998; Langenfeld, Thurlow, & Scott, 1997; Marchant & Paulson, 2005).

Existing research on the consequences of high-stakes exit testing is limited and inconclusive, and the debate and controversy regarding use of high-stakes testing continues in the absence of empirical findings.

Given the controversy over high school exit examinations, 19 states have developed or are developing multiple measures of performance as the basis for graduation (Darling-Hammond, Rustique-Forrester, & Pecheone, 2005). In addition to state exit examinations, these measures include performance assessments and other indicators of student learning such as course grades tied to state standards or student exhibitions of learning. Although such states have tended to maintain higher and steadier rates of graduation, the effects of using multiple measures for students with disabilities, minorities, and English language learners has not been studied.

Across the United States, state and local district graduation policies continue to evolve, with a concerted move toward increasing requirements for graduation. State legislatures have also continued to experiment with state standards policies, graduation requirements, and the use of exit exams as a requirement for receiving a diploma. Revisions and modifications of graduation requirements across states are commonplace. The No Child Left Behind Act requires that states must test all students annually in grades 3-8 in reading and math, and must test students at least once between grades 10 and 12; science testing also began in 2007-2008, with that content area tested one time at each school level (elementary, middle, and high). This means that all states must have high school tests, although they need not be "high stakes" exit exams tied to graduation. This legislation, however, continues to influence the discussions of states and local districts regarding the use of tests in relation to monitoring student progress, graduation, and other forms of accountability. It will also affect discussions about what it means to graduate due to its definition of graduation as earning a standard diploma in four years.

Alternative Diploma Options

The value of a high school diploma is currently under debate nationally. Many argue that its value has depreciated due to lowered academic expectations and to social promotions of ill-prepared students. Complaints from employers that the standard diploma has little or no meaning as an exit credential have heightened the debate. The meaning of a high school diploma today is far different from its meaning 30 or 40 years ago. Over the years, increasingly larger numbers of students have gone on to complete high school and enter college. Today, 85% of adults have completed high school and 28% have finished four or more years of college or university training (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007). By contrast in 1960, only 41% of adults aged 25 and older had completed high school, and 8% had finished four or more years of college (National Center for Education Statistics, 2001). Currently, access to a good job is contingent upon far more knowledge, skills, and education than ever before. But, there is no measure to indicate that the larger numbers graduating and going on to postsecondary educational settings translates to higher skill levels. The use of state exit exams aligned with state standards has been an attempt, in part, to ensure that a diploma means something in terms of a student’s knowledge and skills.

Not all high school diplomas are alike, however; some states offer differentiated diplomas, including diplomas of high distinction and honors diplomas, to students who take rigorous course work, achieve a high grade point average, or post high scores on state exams (Martinez & Bray, 2002). At the other end of the spectrum, students who fail state exit exams or who cannot meet other graduation requirements may receive certificates of completion or attendance, IEP diplomas, occupational diplomas, and others. States also vary in the number of the diploma options they extend to students. Diploma options range from one option only (standard diploma) to up to five or more different options.

Arguments have been made for the use of both the single and multiple diploma options across the states. Advocates of the single, standard diploma contend that the use of a common diploma for all helps to maintain high expectations across diverse student groups (Phillips, 1993; Thurlow & Thompson, 2000; Thurlow, Ysseldyke, & Reid, 1997). Benz, Lindstrom, and Yovanoff (2000) suggest that a single standard diploma with endorsements that demonstrate additional coursework or mastery would be beneficial. That is, they advocate for retaining a single diploma option, with additional recognition that allows students, with and without disabilities, who demonstrate mastery beyond the requirements of the standard diploma to receive credit for their accomplishments. Thurlow and Thompson (2000) argue that regardless of how many diploma options are developed, these options must be available to all students.

Proponents of multiple diploma options base their argument for this approach on claims of "fairness" and "reasonableness." They contend that when students experience difficulties in passing state exit exams it is only fair and reasonable to create additional options with alternative or different performance expectations. Offering such options is intended to maintain student motivation and reduce frustrations that could otherwise lead students to drop out. Unfortunately, there is little research on the value or merit of alternative diplomas in terms of a student’s future opportunities for education or employment (Heubert, 2002; Thurlow & Johnson, 2000). Some research on this issue that is emerging (Gaumer, 2003) suggests post-secondary education institutions often have not heard of certificates of completion; those that have and are willing to accept them generally do not offer financial aid unless students have a standard diploma or earn a General Educational Development (GED) diploma.

Overview of the Study

The present study builds on the earlier work of Thurlow et al. (1995), Guy et al. (1999), and Johnson and Thurlow (2003). These earlier studies examined state graduation policies and diploma options across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The purposes of these earlier studies were to: (1) provide policymakers and state education agency personnel information on the current cross-state status of graduation requirements, and (2) create a database to track changes in policy as states proceed to develop and change graduation policies. The present study was undertaken to update the status of states’ graduation policies. Three primary questions served as the focus of this national study of high school graduation requirements and diploma options for students with and without disabilities. These questions were:

1. What is the range and variation in state graduation requirements and diploma options across the United States for students with and without disabilities?

2. What are the intended and unintended consequences that result for students with disabilities when they are required to pass exit exams to receive a high school diploma?

3. What are the intended and unintended consequences of using single or multiple diploma options for students with disabilities?

A survey was developed to obtain information on individual state graduation policies and practices, including respondent perceptions of the intended and unintended consequences or impact of these policies on students with disabilities. Survey questions were also developed to align, in part, with the three prior studies by Thurlow et al. (1995), Guy et al. (1999), and Johnson and Thurlow (2003). The survey instrument was submitted for limited review to selected state and local special education directors for feedback on the appropriateness of the items included.

Respondents included the state directors of special education or their designees in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In several cases, the state directors of special education delegated the task of completing the survey to other knowledgeable persons, including state education agency transition specialists, state assessment personnel, and others. Three options were extended to respondents for completing the survey. Choices included completing an online survey, completing a written copy of the survey and returning the response by mail, or requesting a phone interview from University of Minnesota research staff. No phone interviews were requested. Data collection occurred from May 2006 to April 2007. A total of 50 states and the District of Columbia responded to the survey, representing a 100% response rate. In some cases states did not respond to all survey questions. Summaries of all data gathered were compiled and transposed into tables.

Survey responses from the state directors of special education or their designees are summarized in this section of the report. The data presented here represent the status of state graduation policies and diploma options at the time the survey was completed by state education agency personnel (May 2006 – April 2007). Given the dynamic nature of policy discussions across the United States concerning state graduation policies and diploma options, it is highly likely that changes in these policies have occurred since the time of data collection. Previous surveys (Guy et al., 1999; Johnson & Thurlow, 2003; Thurlow et al., 1995) provide evidence of the extreme variation and ever-changing political environments of states regarding student graduation requirements.

State Graduation Requirements for Youth with and without Disabilities. States vary in relation to the locus of control over requirements that are set for graduation from high school. Table 1 identifies the relationship between state and local education agencies in terms of who establishes graduation requirements for youth with disabilities. Options include:

• the state provides minimum requirements, and the Local Education Agency (LEA) may add to them;

• the state provides minimum requirements, and the LEAs may not add to them;

• the state provides guidelines, and the LEAs may set their own requirements;

• no state requirements are imposed, and the LEAs set their own requirements;

• requirements are established by IEP teams; and

• the state is in transition from local to statewide assessments.

The variation in the relationship between state and local education agencies in controlling the setting of high school graduation requirements is noted in Table 1. The most common observed practice across states is for the state to provide minimum requirements and extend options to the LEAs to add to them. A total of 34 states currently have graduation policies reflecting this practice. Seven states (Hawaii, Louisiana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia set requirements for graduation, and the LEAs are not permitted to change them. The states of Illinois, Iowa, Rhode Island, and Vermont provide guidelines, but LEAs may set their own requirements. Colorado reported having no minimum state requirements for high school graduation, rather LEAs are responsible for setting their own graduation requirements. Two states, Montana and Nebraska, allow IEP teams to establish the requirements. Connecticut reported that it is in transition from having LEAs determine graduation requirements to having the state set these requirements.

The 2002 survey conducted by Johnson and Thurlow (2003) noted that 31 states provide minimum requirements with LEAs having the option to add to them, whereas the present survey notes 34 such states. Additionally, in the present survey eight states set minimum requirements and LEAs may not add to them, up from five states in 2002. The 2002 survey also noted more variation overall in who sets graduation requirements. In the present survey only one state reported having no state minimum requirements while the 2002 survey reported six states as not having minimum requirements. These changes suggest increasing codification of graduation policies at the state level.

In the present survey, states were asked whether there had been an increase in graduation requirements to receive a standard diploma in the past three years. Table 2 shows that 28 states increased their graduation requirements to receive a standard diploma for both students with and without disabilities. Idaho and Illinois increased the requirements only for students without disabilities; Kentucky is the only state that has increased the requirements for students with disabilities. Seventeen states have not increased the graduation requirements for any students.

Diploma Options