High School Graduation Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must:

• Receive a proficient score of 240 or above on both the English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics sections of the Grade 10 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) or receive a passing score of 220 on both the ELA and Mathematics sections of the MCAS test and complete an Educational Proficiency Plan (EPP), in accordance with the guide-lines set forth by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
• Receive a passing score of 220 on a science section of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System in one of the following: Biology, Chemistry, Engineering/Technology or Physics.
• Earn twenty-four (24) credits.
• Worcester Technical High School students must also complete the mini-mum required credits and required graduation subjects established for them by the School Committee.
• To receive a diploma with a specific high school name, a student must meet the Worcester Public Schools graduation requirements which must include a minimum of 10 credits earned from that particular high school. If a student has earned less than 10 credits but meets the Worcester Public Schools graduation requirements, the student will be eligible to receive a generic Worcester Public School Diploma.

Graduation Course Requirements

Grade 9 beginning 2013-14

4 credits English
4 credits Mathematics
3 credits Science and Technology/Engineering
3 credits History/Social Science (including 1 credit World History and 2 credits U.S. History)
2 credits Foreign Language (of the same language)
1 credit Arts
5 credits additional core courses
Additionally, students must complete a physical education course each year

Grades 10, 11 & 12 students enrolled prior to 2013-14

4 credits English
3 credits Mathematics
3 credits Science and Technology/Engineering
3 credits Social Studies (includes 2 credits of U.S. History)
½ credit Health
1 credit Physical Education

1. Beginning with students who entered the 9th grade in September 2013, the High School Graduation Requirements were replaced by the Mass Core requirements.
2. Students who successfully complete Algebra in grade 8 have the option of receiving one (1) high school credit that will be recorded on their high school transcript. (Massachusetts college admissions accept Grade 8 College Preparatory Courses, provided that the student successfully completes the next level course with a grade of "C" or better). Students electing to take Algebra I in high school will not receive credit for Algebra taken in grade 8.Students who have earned a credit for 8th grade Algebra must complete 4 credits of Mathematics during their high school years.
3. Students who successfully complete the second course of a Foreign Language in grade 8 have the option of receiving one (1) high school credit that will be recorded on their high school transcript. (Massachusetts College ad-missions accept Grade 8 College Preparatory courses, provided that the student successfully completes the next level course with a grade of "C" or better). Students electing to take the first course of a Foreign Language in high school will not receive credit for the course taken in grade 8.
4. The intent of awarding credits for College Preparatory courses taken in grade 8 is so that students can have additional learning opportunities while in high school. These additional opportunities include but are not limited to Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, Online, Service Learning and Work-based learning courses. All students must complete 24 credits of course-work while in high school in addition to fulfilling the other graduation requirements as per the policy handbook.
5. Exception Allowances
   1. English Language Learners (ELL) identified through the Massachusetts’ state standardized test (ACCESS) as English Proficiency Level (EPL) 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 may substitute two college preparatory elective courses for the two required foreign language courses. Students who reach EPL level 6 while in grades 9 or 10 are required to take the two foreign language courses to meet graduation requirements.
   2. Students with disabilities whose psycho-educational evaluation pro-vides a specific diagnosis of a learning disability that precludes the student’s successful completion of a foreign language course may substitute two college preparatory elective courses for the two required foreign language courses.

Massachusetts State College and University Minimum Required Courses for Admission

English - 4 courses
Mathematics - 4 courses (Algebra I & II and Geometry or Trigonometry or comparable coursework)
Sciences - 3 courses (including two with laboratory work)
Social Sciences - 2 courses (including one in U.S. History)
Foreign Language - 2 courses (in the same language)*
Electives - 2 courses (from the above subjects or from the Arts & Humanities or Computer Science)