WA State Graduation Requirements

Graduation requirements are outlined in School Board Policy 2415. The graduating class of 2021 and beyond must accumulate a minimum of 24 credits in specific coursework, meet standards on state exams, participate in 60 hours of service learning, and complete a High School and Beyond Plan. Specific information on each of these are outlined below. For additional information please visit the district’s graduation requirements page.

• English/Language Arts – 4.0 credits
• Social Studies – 3.0 credits
  • 1.5 World History
  • 1.0 United States History
  • .5 Civics
• Mathematics – 3.0 credits
• Science – 3.0 credits
• Career Connected Learning (CTE) – 1.0 credits
• Health Education/PE – 2.0 credits
  • .5 Health required
  • 1.5 PE (Lincoln requires all students to take .5 PE credit
• Fine Arts* – 2.0 credits
  • 1.0 credit Fine Arts AND
  • 1.0 credit Personal Pathway (other subject area that contributes to a student’s personal High School and Beyond Plan)
• World Language* – 2.0 credits
• Electives – 4.0 credits
  • Electives may be specific designation credit of a class OR any class that exceeds that allotted credit limit in each credit category (for example, a student who takes four credits of math would designate their fourth credit as one elective credit).

Total Credits – 24.0

*Personalized Pathway: Students may opt to create a Personalized Pathway where they select courses that lead to a specific post high school career or educational outcome based on the student’s interests and High School and Beyond Plan. This pathway may include Career and Technical Education or World Languages and are intended to provide a focus for the student’s learning. Students can flex up to 2.0 or required World Language and 1.0 of Fine Arts to create added opportunities. Students interested in the Personalized Pathway should set up a meeting with their academic counselor.

High School and Beyond Plan

The State of Washington requires all students to create a High School and Beyond Plan. Seattle Public Schools expects students entering grade 8 to begin to develop a 5-year plan including 4 years of high school courses, resume or activity log, and post high school career and college goals. The plan should be updated over time as the student develops high school plans. School counselors, staff and parents help students develop their individual plans in the district approved tools.

Service Learning

Seattle Public Schools requires students to complete a minimum of 60 total hours of service learning. Students are required to log and submit their hours via the SPS Service Learning Form and Reflection

Forms can be picked up and submitted to the LHS Counseling Center. For ideas and options for service learning opportunities please stop by the Counseling Center.

Students who transfer into SPS from outside of the district are still required to complete 15 hours of service learning per year that they attend an SPS high school.

Students who complete 120 total hours of service learning are recognized with a Lynx Service Learning Leader Award.

Graduation Pathways Options

Per the Washington State Board of Education beginning with the Class of 2020, students must meet at least one of these pathway options to graduate:

• State Assessment: Meet or exceed the graduation scores in the Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA) in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics or in WA-AIM (Washington Access to Instruction & Measurement).
• Dual Credit: Earn at least one high school credit in ELA and at least one high school credit in math in dual credit courses (Running Start, College in the High School, and/or Career and Technical Education dual credit courses).
• AP/IB/Cambridge: For both ELA and math, earn a 3 or higher on certain Advanced Placement (AP) exams or a 4 or higher on certain International Baccalaureate (IB) exams or an E on certain Cambridge International exams, or pass the course with at least a C+.
• SAT/ACT: Meet or exceed the graduation scores set by SBE in the math and ELA portions of the SAT or ACT.
• Transition Course: Pass a transition course in ELA and math (for example, a Bridge to College course) which allows a student to place directly into a credit-bearing college level course.
• Combination: Meet any combination of at least one ELA and one math option of those options listed in 1-5.
• ASVAB: Meet standard on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) by scoring at least the minimum established by the military for eligibility to serve in a branch of the armed services.*
• CTE Sequence: Complete a sequence of Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses.*

*Note: Students who pursue these pathways (ASVAB or CTE) do not need to meet English and math requirements separately. English and math content are embedded in both pathways—and a student who meets either the ASVAB standard or the CTE pathway requirements has met the graduation pathway requirement.

For more specifics on each option visit Graduation Pathways Options on the Washington State Board of Education website.