As students progress through high school and graduation draws closer, more and more students realize that they do not need to work very hard any more at school in order to achieve their diploma. This is in part because students often meet the graduation requirements by the end of junior year, allowing students to waste their senior year. As a result, the total credit requirements  and the requirements for some subject areas should be increased.

Currently, students must gain 25 credits to graduate. In core areas, they must pass four math credits, four English credits, three science credits, and three and a half social studies credits. By the time students are seniors, they have often met the 25-credit requirement and only need to pass two classes in their final year: English and math. As a result, seniors are able to blow off their last year of high school.

If I did not wish to learn, maintain my GPA and continue preparing for college, I could get an F in every single one of my classes except for math, English and one semester of social studies and still graduate in May. The current credit requirements do not help prepare students for college or careers because they do not ensure that students are making use of all four years of high school. If the requirements were increased from 25, then students would have to continue learning and succeeding in school in order to graduate on time.

Credit requirements in certain individual subject areas should also be increased. Math and English are required for four years because they teach skills that can be vital and useful across a variety of careers. But what about knowledge relating to science and technology? The job market has seen a proliferation of careers requiring STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), yet we are only required to take two technology credits and three science credits to graduate. Additionally, social studies classes prepare students to be knowledge citizens capable of getting involved in their communities, state governments and national governments. If the district’s goal is to empower students to be educated for college, the workplace and involved citizenry, then it needs to increase the requirements for these subject areas.

Unfortunately, an increase in requirements would have several downsides, such as a decrease in the graduation rate. Students who struggled with subjects such as science or technology would have a more difficult high school experience. However, it is also important to realize that a high graduation rate does not necessarily mean that a district provides a high quality of education; sometimes it means that students are not pushed to gain skills from a more rigorous education.

Our district is already requiring more than most other districts in this area, but if it wishes to continue improving education and providing all students with the opportunity to succeed, then it needs to consider an increase in credit requirements.