You are here

Graduation Requirements

Graduation Requirements


The state graduation requirements under Wis. Stats. 118.33 and 118.33(1m)(a)1, Section 3266R total 15 credits and the successful passing of a civics exam. The 15 credits including the following:

  • English/Language Arts - 4 Credits
  • Math - 3 Credits
  • Science - 3 Credits
  • Social Studies - 3 Credits
  • Physical Education – 1.5 credits
  • Health – 0.5 credits (in grades 7-12)

For more information about the civics graduation requirement, visit the Wisconsin Civics Graduation Requirement webpage. In addition, as specified in s. 118.33(1)(am) ), the state superintendent shall encourage school boards to require an additional 8.5 credits selected from any combination of vocational education, foreign languages, fine arts, and other courses. 

Additional Information about Graduation Requirements

 

  • All districts' graduation requirements are reported annually and can be found in WISEdash.

  • For graduation requirements for Independent Charter Schools, go to https://dpi.wi.gov/parental-education-options/charter-schools.

  • Wisconsin Academic Standards specify what students should know and be able to do in the classroom. They serve as goals for teaching and learning. Setting high standards enables students, parents, educators, and citizens to know what students should have learned at a given point in time. In Wisconsin, all state standards serve as a model. Locally elected school boards adopt academic standards in each subject area to best serve their local community. For more information, visit DPI's Wisconsin Academic Standards web page.

 

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers about Credits


1.     Can a student take both a CTE course (approved by the Board) and a Computer Science course (approved by DPI) for 2 of the 3 math credits?

Yes.

2.     Can a student take 2 CTE courses as part of the 3 required science or math courses?

A student could take a CTE course for a math credit and a different CTE course for a science credit. However, a student cannot count a CTE course for both one math and one science credit or take 2 CTE courses for two math credits or two CTE courses for two science credits.

3.     Does a school board have to grant math credit for CTE courses?

The school board first needs to determine which CTE courses, if any, they approve to be equivalent math credit. Once courses, if any, are approved, math credit shall be granted.

4.     How many math credits can a school board award for CTE courses?

Up to one credit.

5.     Can a school board give partial math or science credit?

Yes. When a school board is determining what CTE courses will be approved for local equivalent math or science credits, they may choose to award partial credit (i.e. .5 CTE credit and .5 math credit for a welding course.)  The teaching license required for those courses would be the same as if full equivalency credit is awarded--the proper CTE license.  

6.    Do colleges and universities have to accept locally determined credit as part of minimum entry requirements?
 

No. While the new law provides greater flexibility to local education agencies in awarding mathematics and science credit for a broader array of coursework, the new law does not require technical schools, two-year and four-year colleges and universities to accept these courses as part of their minimum entry requirements.

However, DPI has a long-standing partnership with Wisconsin higher education institutions around our Equivalency Credit process. Faculty has participated in and provided support for this rigorous process. Although it is not a guarantee, Wisconsin institutions have a history of accepting credits that were acquired through the DPI Equivalency Process for their minimum entry requirements. Please see our Agriculture Education Page http://ag.dpi.wi.gov/ag_asec and our Project Lead the Way page https://dpi.wi.gov/te/equivalency/science where we have posted letters from the UW System regarding their commitment to accept certain equivalency credits.  DPI recommends that school districts consider using this well established process to determine what CTE credits should be used to award math and science credit.  

7.    If a school district determines that specific CTE courses satisfy high school graduation requirements for mathematics or science, how shall the school district designate this on the student’s transcript?  

School districts need to determine how those courses will be designated on the student’s transcript. There are some designations that are prohibited. See next question for more information.

7a.  If a school district determines that specific CTE courses satisfy high school graduation requirements for mathematics or science, the school district will need to determine how those courses are recorded on the student transcript.  Are there any designations that are NOT to be used?

Yes. School districts shall not use the same “equivalency” designation as provided through the DPI equivalency process.

The following coding is only reserved for DPI approved courses. Districts shall not use the following for locally determined equivalent courses:

(ES) = equivalent for science
(EM) = equivalent for mathematics
(ESS) = equivalent for social studies
(EE)= equivalent for English

8.    If a student takes a course in middle school, does it count for high school credit?

Under 2013 Act 138, which was recently passed by the Wisconsin Legislature, it is up to the school board to decide whether to award high school credit. A school board can choose one of three options in awarding high school credit for a middle school math or science credit earned in grade 7 or 8:

  1. No high school credit.
  2. High school credit toward the 4 required English credits, 3 social studies credits, 3 math credits, 3 science credits, 1.5 credits of physical education, or .5 credit of health education under s. 118.33(1)(a), Stats., if the requirements in s. 118.33(1)(em), Stats., are met.
  3. High school credit toward the additional 8.5 credits a school board may require from a combination of vocational education, foreign languages, fine arts, and other courses under s. 118.33(1)(am), Stats., if the requirements in s. 118.33(1)(em), Stats., are met.

It should be noted that CTE or computer science courses need to be completed in the high school grades to count for math or science credit. CTE or computer science courses could be taken in middle school for CTE or computer science credit under s.118.33(1)(am), Stats.

There are three requirements under s. 118.33(1)(em), Stats., that must be met in order to award high school credit for a credit a pupil earns in grades 7 or 8:

  1. The pupil’s performance on the state examination or a similar examination approved by the school board demonstrates that the pupil is academically prepared for coursework that is offered in the high school grades.
  2. The credit is earned in a course that is taught by a teacher who is licensed to teach the subject in the high school grades.
  3. The credit is earned in a course that is taught using a curriculum and assessments that are equivalent to the curriculum and assessments used to teach the subject in the high school grades.

9.    Which courses are approved by DPI as Computer Science courses?

For the purposes of the new Wisconsin State Statute 118.33 (1) (a) 1.c.—High School Graduation Standards, DPI has established the following criteria that must be used in determining that a course is a Computer Science course, and therefore a school district may give math credit. A course must contain the following components:

  • Algorithmic Problem Solving: Systematic study algorithms or processes that underlie the acquisition, representation, processing, storage, communication of, and access to information.

  • Applications development: Applications development and applications design through coding, programming, and software engineering.

  • Computational Design and Computational Intelligence: Study of the design of computational systems, understanding how computational systems work—and hands on application of mathematical processes within computational systems.

  • Computational Thinking: Reason abstractly and quantitatively by making sense of quantities and their relationships in problem situations.

  • Management Information Systems: Study of the access to information generated through computer systems (programming, databases, application development)—coding, database development, and the understanding of the applications used for computational processing and applications development.

    The continued intent of this guidance is to ensure a computer science course that incorporates all of the established criteria will maintain a significant concentration of programming content as specifically listed in two out of five criteria. If a course contains the above components, then the course is considered approved by DPI as a Computer Science course, and a local school board may award math credit. More guidance on Computer Science courses can be found on DPI’s website.

10.    Does a local school district need to submit Computer Science courses to DPI for approval?

No. A local school district needs to ensure that the content of the course includes ALL components listed in Answer 13.

Teacher Licensure

11.    What license does a teacher need to hold if they are teaching a CTE course that will result in math or science credit?

The teacher must hold the proper CTE license for the course that they are teaching. For example, an agricultural teacher must hold a 200 license to teach an agriculture course that the student will be receiving equivalent science credit.

12.    Who can teach computer science courses for math credit?

A licensed computer science teacher who holds a 405 computer science license is required.

13.    Does a computer science teacher teaching a DPI-approved computer science course need a 400 Mathematics license?

No.

14.    Why might requirements for graduates of certain nondistrict charter schools not meet Wisconsin standards?

Except as otherwise explicitly provided, chs. 115 to 121 do not apply to charter schools. Consequently, the requirements of s. 118.33 (1)(a) and (am), Wis. Stats., do not apply to nondistrict charter schools. State statute requires the operator of an independent (non-district) charter school to “develop and periodically review and revise a policy specifying criteria for granting a high school diploma.” See s. 118.33 (1)(f), Wis. Stats., for provisions relating to nondistrict charter schools.