Graduation Requirements

What Every HS Student Must Do to Graduate

To get a high school diploma every NY State student must complete:

4 years (8 credits) of English
4 years (8 credits) of Social Studies
3 years (6 credits) of Math
3 years (6 credits) of Science
1 year (2 credits) of Foreign Language
2 credits of The Arts (art, art history, music, dance, etc.)
1 credit of Health
7 credits of Electives
4 credits of Physical Education

In addition, every student must have credit for the following NY State Regents Examinations:

Integrated Algebra
Living Environment
Global Studies
English Language Arts
US History & Government

To pass the Regents a student must earn a 65% or better.

A student must pass ALL 5 Regents exams with a 65% or better.
Passing is a 65% but to prove true mastery of a subject, 85% is expected.

To obtain an Advanced Regents Diploma a student must pass the 5 Regents Exams listed above plus three math Regents’ (Integrated Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry), two Science Regents (Living Env and Earth Sci or Chemistry), 6 credits of a Foreign Language and the LOTE exam.

Students with an IEP can graduate with a Local Diploma. This means they can receive graduation credit for Regents exams with a 55% to 64%.

To go from the 9th grade to the 10th grade a student must earn a minimum of 10 credits
To go from the 10th grade to the 11th grade a student must earn a minimum of 20 credits. 4 of those credits must be in English and 4 of those credits must be in Social Studies
To go from the 11th grade to the 12th grade a student must earn a minimum of 30 credits

A student will graduate with over 44 credits, but it is not the number of credits that determines graduation. High school graduation is based on completing all the requirements listed above.

A failing grade is 64% or below.