Covering College and Career Readiness

Some state boards of education are moving to a high school model that offers more opportunities for career exploration while also working to maintain rigorous academics, aimed at ensuring graduates are prepared for a variety of postsecondary options. 

High school graduation requirements vary across the country. Almost all states have minimum credit requirements to earn a high school diploma, and at least 34 states require students to complete certain assessments to graduate, according to the Education Commission of the States. 

Some states allow for more flexibility than others. At least 21 states have multiple diploma options, ECS found. More than 40 states allow students to swap certain courses or experiences for credit requirements. 

During the Education Writers Association’s 2026 National Seminar in Baltimore last June, panelists shared what they have seen as states reevaluate high school graduation requirements and create more career-oriented pathways opportunities. 

Here are the speakers’ main takeaways, trends to watch and issues to consider in your coverage: 

Participants 

• Angélica Infante-Green, commissioner of elementary and secondary education at the Rhode Island Department of Education
• Kathleen Mathers, a principal at Education Strategy Group 
• Bill DeBaun, senior director for data and strategic initiatives at National College Attainment Network 
• Rachel Fradette, independent journalist (moderator) 

Questions About Preparedness 

Nationally, the high school graduation rate was 87% for the 2021-22 school year — 7% higher than a decade earlier, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

However, the average reading score and average math score for high school seniors were both three points lower in 2024 than in 2019, according to the 2024 NAEP assessment. 

These conflicting trends raise doubts about whether graduates are truly prepared for life after high school, whether that be college or career. 

Kathleen Mathers said the trends indicate “we have a problem with what we’re doing, and the measurement systems we’re putting in place are ineffective, and our most marginalized students are the ones who suffer the most.”

High school graduation requirements in many states were not aligned with those for college admissions due to different expectations around coursework, according to a 2018 report from the Center for American Progress. 

For example, foreign language requirements for high school students in 23 states did not correspond with those for public universities, according to reporting from The 74. 

“We were setting up our kids for failure,” said Angélica Infante-Green.

High school students in Rhode Island were not able to take the courses needed to go to local universities, Infante-Green said. 

“Too many of our kids are telling us the high school experience is not relevant,” Mathers said. 

As high school students are sometimes struggling to see the value in their coursework, school officials have been rethinking how to support students based on their goals. 

Creating More Choices for Students

In 2022, Rhode Island implemented new high school graduation requirements, which officially take effect with the class of 2028. Infante-Green worked with the state’s governor to create a process for developing Rhode Island’s new requirements, which took two years and involved teachers, parents, alumni and the community.

Rhode Island intentionally made its career and technical education programs more practical by giving students real-world problems to solve. 

For example, Rhode Island’s education department bought 15 food trucks and let students use them as part of coursework, tasking them with developing a business plan. 

“Our kids are telling us that if we don’t change the way that we’re teaching, they’re just not showing up, and it is really important for us to think about this a little differently,” Infante-Green said. 

Indiana also changed its high school graduation requirements, offering pathways geared toward three postsecondary outcomes – college, employment or military enlistment – and allowing for more work experience and career training, which will take effect for all students during the 2028-2029 school year, according to reporting from Chalkbeat Indiana. 

Indiana’s new high school course requirements allow students to choose between various electives, such as career and technical courses, fine arts and world languages depending on the pathway the student has selected. 

“You’re seeing (states) take a more personalized approach,” Mathers said. “It’s more experience-based; it’s getting away from an over-reliance on coursework and embedding authentic experiences in the mix, and it’s taking more of a skills-based approach.”

Maintaining Rigorous Academic Offerings

As some states are reassessing their requirements, one point of tension is maintaining rigorous high school course offerings while also having the flexibility to increase experiential opportunities for students, Mathers said. 

“If you want to create a more personalized, experience-based high school opportunity for kids, you’ve got to decrease coursework in some ways,” she said. “You have to look at all the different requirements you have. Where is your flexibility, and where are you going to make adjustments there in order to increase those flexible, experience-based opportunities?”

Another challenge is making sure high school graduation requirements align with college-admissions requirements, Mathers said. 

“All these things have to work in concert with one another, and it’s a really difficult puzzle to figure out,” she said. “Academic readiness still has to count.” 

Reporting Tips 

Something Mathers suggests reporters take a look at is career advising, specifically the training guidance counselors receive when it comes to what postsecondary options are available to students. 

“If you pull a group of counselors together and ask them, ‘Besides four-year college, what are the high-value opportunities that kids can pursue?’, they will candidly tell you they don’t know because they took the four-year path and then went to grad school, and it worked really well for them,” Mathers said. 

Bill DeBaun recommended high schools keep track of what happens to students after they graduate, and in turn, reporters can ask school districts and state boards of education what data they have about students’ post-graduation pathways. 

“Was a student earning a living wage next year after his graduation, or did they matriculate to a four-year institution? This is all really valuable data,” he said.  “We want to know which institutions, which pathways are doing well by our students so that we can then turn around and inform our current students.” 

As high school graduation requirements change, Mathers encouraged reporters to continue to examine if students are receiving quality experiences. 

“We don’t yet have the systems to measure that, so that’s a really important piece, but as we change these high school diploma requirements, what’s happening with proficiency?” Mathers asked. 

Resources

For further help reporting on career and technical education, the Education Writers Association has a list of resources on career prep, from data and research to story ideas.