All students should graduate from high school ready for college, careers, and citizenship.
STEM-Focused High School Graduation Options
As a number of states have created STEM-focused high school graduation options for students, and more states will make them available in the future, several important policy considerations merit analysis. These include the ways states have designed their STEM graduation options, with a focus on comparing the requirements specific to mathematics and science, and other requirements students must meet to graduate with these options. Additional considerations include how well STEM options align with expectations for college and careers and how states are incentivizing schools and students to respectively offer and complete these options. Of significant importance is the extent to which groups of students, especially historically underserved groups, have equitable access to and are earning these STEM-focused options, and what data is available showing outcomes for these groups.
